Revenge of the Squirt
by Gracefuldahlia
Summary: Riku abandons Sora to save his popularity. Sora's left friendless and alone. However, his life goes through some major changes after he befriends the younger brother of a popular celebrity. Soriku, Akuroku and more...
1. Chapter 1

_It was a night like any other on the Destiny Islands. Sora and Riku had spent the day doing what they usually did in their summer vacation: they had gone to the island, their island, they had fought with swords, sought for treasure, and finally changed into their swimming gear and taken a swim in the shimmering sea water._

_Now they were lying on the beach, side by side, perfectly content, taking in the sunset; an explosion of warm yellow and red._

_"Hey Sora?"_

_"Hmm?"_

_"You know you're my best friend right?"_

_"Hehe, no need to say it. Of course! Riku, you say some weird stuff sometimes."_

_"Wait here."_

_And just like that, the silver-haired boy jumped up and ran off to the tiny island that was connected to the main island by a rickety wooden bridge. Sora wondered what his friend was up to. Then he looked at the beautiful sky again, and felt completely relaxed._

_Until Riku dropped something heavy on his tummy._

_"Here, you lazy bum."_

_Sora examined the odd-looking, star-shaped object his friend had brought it._

_"A paopu fruit?"_

_Riku nodded solemnly. "It is said, when two people share one, their destinies become intertwined. They will remain a part of each other's lives, no matter what."_

_Sora let it sink in, looking at the fruit with newly found fascination._

_Then Riku broke the serious atmosphere by grinning sheepishly._

_"Come on, I know you want to try it."_

_They broke the fruit in two perfect halves, but Sora hesitated as he brought his piece to his mouth._

_"Isn't this paopu sharing... sort of a boy girl thing? I don't know, that's just the impression I get from Selphie."_

_Riku smiled, "It doesn't have to be."_

Chapter one – Welcome back

"Uhm… Hi guys!" Sora squeaked uncertainly, as a group of four boys who were all considerably taller, more muscular and altogether more masculine than he was closed in on him.

"What up, squirt?" The leader of the pack, a particularly vicious senior named Seifer asked in a nasty imitation of an innocent voice. "Had a nice holiday?"

"Err.. Yeah, nice. It was nice. Really nice." Sora said, desperately looking for an escape route. It was no use. He was in the dingiest corner of the back ally, cornered by the four bullies who hadn't left him alone for longer that a week since word got out that he was gay. There was Seifer, of course, the self proclaimed king of the school and a rather stereotypical bully. Then there was Rai, his trusty lieutenant whose brains were in his biceps and who had an annoying tendency to end every sentence with "you know?" while looking at Seifer for some sign of approval. Hayner, who, according to Sora's dark speculations had only started bullying him so he could get closer to Seifer, with whom he had a sickly obsession. And, finally, Riku.

Of all four of them, Riku was the one for whom Sora felt the deepest loathing. Not because Riku pushed the others into making Sora's life miserable; that was Seifer's job. No, it was because he and Riku had been really good friends once, back in the days when they were both still living on Destiny Islands. When Riku's parents and Sora's brother Leon had decided to move to Twilight Town together, they had trusted Sora and Riku would help each other fit in at their new school, Twilight High. Riku was a year older than Sora, so his protection would prevent Sora from being bullied for being a little scrawny and girlish, Leon had reasoned.

He could not have been more wrong. The moment Sora set foot in Twilight High people were whispering about the way he walked, his funny accent and his dubious sexuality. Riku, on the other hand, with his great good looks, his funny and often flirty jokes and his talent for the most popular sport in the world, blitzball, had fit in immediately. All the girls were talking about him with lots of giggles; the hot new guy who came from some tropical island and who had replaced Wakka as captain of the blitzball team the moment coach had seen him play.

They never mentioned Sora though. Sora had, logically, clung to Riku after arriving this new, big, jungle-like school. At first, Riku kept spending time with him, kept walking to school with him and kept having lunch with him. But when Riku discovered he was slowly becoming one of the most popular kids attending Twilight High, he had, to Sora's horror, begun to push the younger boy away, slowly but steadily.

He started having lunch with new friends that seemed to fit in the picture of the popular, handsome and extremely cool guy he wanted to be way better than Sora. This included Seifer and his gang, a quiet but very pretty girl called Namine, a good looking but deranged pyromaniac named Axel and, to top it off, a vivacious and exceedingly slutty girl named Kairi, who quickly became Riku's girlfriend, to Sora's astonishment and disgust. Finally, as he started spending more time with Seifer and his two admirers, he started coming along when they bullied Sora, though he never took an active part in the embarrassment and the beatings. Instead, he hung back with a sort of guilty look on his face, just like he was doing now.

Their former close friendship was what caused Sora to look up at Riku with the nastiest expression he could manage right now. Riku averted Sora's eyes.

"I think a good old dumpster toss would welcome our favourite little squirt back to Twilight High properly, don't you guys?", said Seifer, clearly enjoying his power over the little teen cowering before him.

"Yeah, show him who's boss, you know?" Raj cried in agreement.

"No, please guys, it's the first day back – aaargh!" Sora squealed, as Seifer lifted him off his feet like a fireman. And it was in this fashion that Sora entered Twilight High for his second year there, carried by his tormenters. Sora hated it. He hated the looks people threw him when they saw how he was being carried around by Seifer. He hated both the looks of pity and the looks of amusement. But mostly, he hated Riku for not sticking up for him.

As Seifer closed in on the dumpster that had been affectionately nicknamed "Sora's second home", Sora could not help noticing how nice Seifer smelled; musky, masculine and very sexy. He also had a very nice view of the bully's behind from where Seifer held him, his very well-toned behind…. He must have worked out over the summer… Before he realised what would happen if someone saw it, Sora found himself looking at it with a very strange sort of fascination for how good-looking his blond tormenter was… And how nice he smelled.. But then, Hayner, who was probably looking at Seifer's butt himself, noticed excactly where Sora's eyes lingered. "Seifer," he cried gleefully, "that nasty little fag is checking out your butt!"

Seifer froze in his tracks. Sora felt cold fear streaming up his veins as Seifer threw him off his shoulder and in front of the dumpster. The tall blond senior looked down at the scrawny sophomore in front of him with a very menacing glare that caused Sora to shiver.

"You dirty little pervert," he said in a deadly soft voice, "I would beat you down to the ground if I didn't think you would enjoy it very much."

Hayner grinned at this, looking at Sora with a very mean look in his eyes. Riku was staring at the ground with great interest. Raj was just grinning stupidly.

"Raj, Hayner. Throw away the thrash." Seifer said with a lazy sort of hand gesture, walking away with Riku. Before he knew it, Sora found himself lifted off his feet.

"In you go you little psycho." Raj growled, throwing Sora into his "second home". He walked away after that, but Hayner lingered and bent over the dumpster. Sora knew what was coming.

"Seifer is a god compared to you, and you're an insect compared to him. You dreaming about his body makes you a total pervert, not that I have not always known you were a pervert. Dirty squirt."

Hot fury took hold of Sora, and before he knew it, he hissed back: "I wonder if your idol will keep you around for long if he noticed how often you check out his butt, and that you can't keep your eyes of him whenever you think he's not looking. At least I'm honest about who and what I am."

Hayner, not the brightest junior around, didn't know what to say to this but simply stared at the brunet with an expression of shock and dislike. "Well…. At least I have friends!" He said when it dawned upon him that Sora had just insulted him, and he hurried away after Seifer, Riku and Raj.

Left alone inside the dumpster, Sora felt very much like crying as he thought about how right Hayner was about him not having any friends. He used to be pretty popular at Destiny High; best friends with the blitzball captain and reasonably good looking with his big blue eyes and his cheerful smile. But at this new school, he was stuck at the very bottom of the food chain, and it didn't seem like that would change anytime soon. Then the bell ringed. Swearing at his bad luck, Sora hurried toward his classroom where he would be treated with double physical sciences by professor Vexen. He had almost reached the science classroom when a poster caught his eye.

It was hung on the message board next to ads for local businesses and a poster for the struggle tournament. It said: "Want to compete in the struggle tournament but lack the brawl? Time to MAN UP! Sign up for fighting lessons today and be the toughest guy around in no time! Private lessons by martial arts expert and licensed instructor Cloud Strife" Before he knew it Sora had written down the phone number. He didn't know why he did it, perhaps because he knew that it was definitely time for him to man up, or maybe because of the picture of this Cloud guy that was shown on the poster, under the text.

He was simply gorgeous, with eyes even bluer than Sora's own, a confident smile on his face, spiky blond hair and very well toned arms. As he hurried into his classroom just in time before the second bell, Sora made a mental note to call the number he had just written down as soon as he got home later that afternoon, and suddenly he felt much more optimistic about the rest of the day and, in fact, the rest of the school year.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two: Friends

Roxas looked around the lunchroom. It was just like the one at his old school, though bigger; you could immediately see all the clicks that had formed around the school. There was a table close to him filled with what had to be blitzball players, one actually spinning a blitzball around on his hand, in a very cool and casual way. Roxas smiled as he saw the guy's hair; it was absolutely crazy, fire-red and gravity defying. Then there was a table next to that one (typical, Roxas thought) occupied by a group of gossiping cheerleaders. One of those girls, very thin with a chaotic mass of orange hair, was talking to a much more calm-looking brunette like she was on crack or something. She looks like a fun person to hang out with, Roxas thought.

Next to that was a table with a more varied group of youths. Those have to be the cool kids, Roxas reckoned. They were all extremely good looking; the guys as well as the girls. One guy with a mean yet handsome face was wearing a shirt that showed off his impressive arms, and was surrounded by sidekicks. There were two of those, one tanned guy who looked like a gorrilla and a small blond boy who kept looking at the leader of the three with a slavish expression and who nodded at everything he said. Roxas shook his head at the boy's ridiculous behaviour. Next to the tanned guy was one of the girls. She was extremely pretty with her blue eyes, her thin frame and her light blond hair. She was smiling serenely at some joke the guy next to her was telling. Wow, thought Roxas, that guy looks like he's on fire. His hair was even crazier than the blitzball player's, he had green eyes that shone like emeralds and he was lean and tall, with slightly tanned skin. Roxas couldn't help but stare at him for a little bit. Then his gaze shifted to the guy who was sitting next to the redhead, and his hair was also very unique, because it was actually silver. Damn he's good-looking, Roxas concluded after seeing his aquamarine eyes, his perfect complexion and his muscular frame. But he's definitely taken and supposedly straight as well, he thought grimly upon checking out the girl sitting on his lap. She was laughing wildly at whatever the silver haired youth was saying, showing off rows of pearly white teeth. She also had red hair, but it was darker and somehow more natural looking than that of the guy sitting next to her boyfriend. Roxas looked away as they started casually making out with each other.

Okay, so now I know who the cool kids are, I'd better find myself some place to sit. But as he walked across the lunchroom he found this was much easier said than done. All the tables seemed taken, and those with room were occupied by groups that didn't seem very welcoming. A group of gothic looking guys actually growled at him. Right, Roxas thought, as he walked past their table. Finally he saw a table in the corner that was only occupied by one boy. Roxas walked towards it confidently, and as he saw the boy he was very surprised at how much his face looked like his own. The same blue eyes, similar bone structure… His hair was even spikier than Roxas', and brown instead of blond.

'Hey there,' Roxas said, smiling at his look-alike, 'I'm Roxas. Mind if I sit here?' The boy looked up at him with a rather frightened expression, as if he expected some kind of trap.

'Uhm, please do! I mean, not at all. Err… I don't mind at all, that's what I mean, yes.' He stuttered, and Roxas sat down next to him, amused. 'Don't worry, I'm not going to bite you.'

The brunet seemed to relax a little. 'Sorry, you just caught me off guard. People don't…. I usually sit alone.'

Roxas raised an eyebrow. What was he gonna say? People don't usually talk to me?

'So what's your name?' he asked, in an attempt to start making conversation.

'It's Sora,' the boy replied 'Sora Leonhart.'

'It's nice to meet you,' Roxas said, smiling again. 'I'm new to this school, you know. Think you could show me around?'

'Yeah, sure, I'd love to!' Sora answered very quickly. 'What classes do you have?'

Roxas took out his schedule in from his bag and gave it to Sora, who took it and quickly scanned it.

'Cool, it's identical too mine!' he cried out with great enthusiasm.

'Looks like I picked the right guide then.' Roxas said, smiling at Sora's enthusiasm.

The brunet immediately started babbling away about the various classes and how bearable they were, and Roxas found himself liking the boy more and more. God, he's bubbly. And he talks a lot. But I can live with that, I prefer listening anyway, he thought, as it dawned on him how quickly he had made his first friend at this new school.

As he and Roxas walked towards geology later that afternoon, Sora couldn't believe his luck. It seemed that after 2 years of pure hell, he had finally found a friend. And not just any friend, but a very cool and good-looking friend, he couldn't help thinking. They had sat next to each other in all of their classes and Sora had already discovered some very striking similarities between Roxas and himself.

Both lived with their brothers and were born somewhere else. He hadn't asked whether Roxas was an orphan, liked himself, because that would be a rather awkward question, but he guessed they had that in common as well if the blond teen was living with his brother. They were talking about blitzball and how Roxas thought he might try out for the team when Seifer and Axel approaching ruined Sora's good mood. Seifer was carrying a slushy, extra large. Sora had enough experience to know what that meant. He stopped talking. And as Roxas looked up at him questioningly Sora gave Seifer a pleading stare, but the bulkie teen's menacing grin was directed at Roxas, and before Sora could stop it, 1.5 litre of chemical junk hit Roxas in the face.

'No!' Sora squeaked. This was even worse than them giving himself a slushy facial, as it was Roxas' first day at this new school and already Seifer had marked him as a loser. For a moment, Seifer and Axel laughed while Roxas stood very still, the slushy dripping down his face, in his shirt and probably all the way into his underpants. Then the small blond boy acted more quickly than Sora could have imagined. Before anyone knew what was happening he lashed out at Seifer hitting him square in the jaw with surprising strength, knocking the bully to the ground.

'What the HELL is your problem?' Roxas yelled, his eyes burning with such a fury that Sora couldn't help but wince. Axel looked first at Roxas, then at Seifer and finally back at Roxas again. His look of shock turned to one of great amusement. To Sora's total surprise, he then burst out laughing. Meanwhile, all the students passing them stopped to look at Seifer who was still on the ground clutching his injured jaw, some looking shocked but most just looking extremely amused. They all knew of Seifer's badass reputation and had feared him for it, and to see him lying on the ground was great entertainment to them. Seifer stood up quite slowly, a look of anger on his face that was so intense Sora backed away from him a several steps, purely out of instinct.

Seifer opened his mouth a few times but he was at a loss for words. Then he decided against trying to talk and threw himself at Roxas. But the smaller blond had been expecting this, and he dodged him almost lazily and tripped him. This resulted in Seifer lying on the ground again, angrier than ever before. The crowd that surrounded them now laughed heartily, but Seifer was on his feet again almost immediately, and was launching punch after punch at Roxas, who dodged every blow.

'Man, you're slow.' Roxas said, dodging a vicious right hook Seifer had thrown at him. Then, with incredible speed, accuracy and power, he countered by hitting the guy about whom Sora had had nightmares about for two years (though they sometimes turned into more pleasant dreams lately) in the stomach. Seifer bent double and Roxas knocked him to the ground again, with a swift kick at the side of his head. Axel was lying on the ground as well know, positively howling with laughter.

'What the HELL Axel!' Seifer roared, his face red with humiliation and anger.

'Sorry man, it's just too funny to see you get your butt kicked by one of your victims after all those years.' Axel sniggered.

'Victim am I? I'll kick your butt too if you want me to.' Roxas snapped, raising his eyebrows.

'Nah, I'd rather live a little longer. Nice punches though. I'm Axel by the way, got it memorized?' the redhead said, helping Seifer to his feet and dragging him off to their next class. As they left, the crowd laughing louder than ever, Seifer looked at Roxas furiously and shouted dramatically: 'You are so going to pay for this!'

Several people had surrounded Roxas and Sora the moment Seifer had left the corridor.

'Wow, you can really fight!'

'Nice job, he's had it coming to him for years…'

'That'll teach him!'

'That was great, I've hated that guy ever since kindergarten, when he gave me that wedgie…'

'Are you a samurai?'

Roxas simply shrugged at the compliments, then grabbed Sora's shoulder and murmured: 'Let's just get to class.. I need to get this stuff of first, though…' He shuddered at the feeling of the slushy that had reached some very private areas by now.

Sora blinked quickly a few times, then said. 'Please don't talk to me.'

'What? Why?' Roxas said, surprised.

Sora said nothing and didn't move for a few moments, but just when Roxas was starting to get worried, he said: 'Sorry, I was saving that in my memory forever. That was the best moment of my life.' He laughed like a maniac.

'Seifer getting beaten up, big bad Seifer on the ground! Best. Fight. Ever.'

Roxas didn't reply immediately, but dragged Sora into a nearby bathroom.

'I have to get rid of this stuff right now or I'm going to hit someone else…' he muttered darkly.

Sora seemed to wake up. 'Oh don't worry, I can help you with that, I'm an expert.'

And sure enough, Sora managed to get them to their class in time with Roxas fully cleaned, though his clothes still had some rather colourful stains in them. As they sat down at the back of the classroom and professor Xaldin started ranting about how whirlwinds came into existence, Roxas sighed. 'I can't believe people who are scared of guys like that Seifer person. They're all talk.' He smiled a little. 'All coffee and no omelet, my brother would say.'

'Well, he looks really strong and mean, and he's been bullying people for years. Me mostly.' He shuddered. Roxas looked at him, puzzled. He wanted to cheer his new friend up.

'Hey Sora, wanna hang out at my place after school? My brother will have filled the swimming pool by now, and the weather's really nice…'

Sora's eyes widened. Oh boy, Roxas thought, that was too quick. I've only known the guy for five hours or something…

But then Sora cried: 'Sounds amazing! Your place after school, awesome.' He had shouted a little too loudly, though.

'Leonhart, as interesting as your social life undoubtedly is, I must ask you not to discuss it in my classroom.' Professor Xaldin said drily.

'Yes sir, sorry sir.' Sora said, blushing. But he didn't feel sorry at all. His social life had never been interesting, it had been nonexistent in fact, but he had a strong feeling that was about to change with Roxas as his friend.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter three – The Strife residence

As the school bell rang Sora started to feel very excited. He couldn't wait to see Roxas' house. It had been more than 2 years since anybody had asked him to hang out and he had gotten sort of used to being alone. As he reached into his pocket he felt the little note he had made earlier that day, with the phone number of struggle instructor Cloud Strife written down on it. He had almost forgotten about it, and it seemed like he was not going to need it after all, with Roxas by his side. He still couldn't believe how Roxas, who didn't look much tougher or brawlier than he himself did, could have beaten up the person that had made his high school life a living hell. Roxas was like an angel sent to protect him and bring back his happiness, Sora thought dreamily… Okay that's a little dramatic. Though he certainly looks the part.

'Hey Sora, we are going to have to take the tram to get to my house.' Roxas said as they walked out of the classroom, stopping Sora's daydreaming.

'Oh,' the brunet said, 'So you don't live close to the school? What district do you live in?'

Sora himself lived close enough to the school to walk there every morning. He usually left his house quite early though, because he wanted to avoid being ambushed by Seifer and his gang, as had happened this morning…

'Pradera, on Carefree Trail.' Roxas said casually.

Sora's mouth fell open. 'Wow…'

'What's up?' Roxas inquired, a little amused at the look of surprise on the other boy's face.

'That's… the wealthiest district in Twilight Town. The wealthiest street in Twilight Town actually. Riku lives there.' He added before he could help himself. They walked out of the school and started crossing the parking lot, heading towards the tram common.

'Oh,' Roxas said, slightly blushing at Sora's admiration, 'well, Cloud thought it seemed like a pretty nice house. That's the reason we moved here, to live in a nicer place. Who's Riku?' He asked, hoping to change the subject.

Sora hesitated. How could he best describe his former best friend, who had abandoned him when he realized it might harm his reputation? 'He's… A guy I know from Destiny Islands. That's where I moved here from. He moved here around the time I did, and he's really popular. Captain of the blitzball team and all. His parents are really rich as well. His dad's a weapon designer or something. Has his own company. ' He couldn't help sounding a little contemptuous as he described Riku.

Roxas noticed. 'You don't seem to like him very much.' he said with a smirk.

'Well,' Sora started, not wanting to talk about what happened between him and Riku, 'we used to be friends, but some stuff happened and now we just avoid each other.'

Thankfully, Roxas dropped the subject of Riku. 'I love how this entire town is connected by the trams,' he said instead as they hopped onto the tram that would take them to the Pradera district, 'if I had to walk all the way to school I'd have to wake up at 6 AM or something every morning, and Cloud would probably just laugh at me if I asked him to drop me off at school.

Sora suddenly thought of something.

'So your brother's name is Cloud right?'

'Yeah,' Roxas replied, sounding bemused, 'why do you ask?'

'It's just that… I saw an ad this morning about a struggle coach or something whose name was Cloud, Cloud Strife.'

Roxas smiled. 'Yup, that's the same Cloud. He gives private struggle lessons to kids. Just for fun, you know. He won the world championships in Midgar last year.' He added casually, though Sora could hear the evident pride in his face.

Once again, Sora found himself staring at Roxas with his mouth wide open. 'Your brother's the guy who beat Setzer last year? That's…. That's….' but he couldn't find words that would do such an amazing feat justice. Setzer had been struggle world champion for as long as Sora could remember. He'd heard someone beat him last year and had hardly believed it.

Roxas laughed. 'That's him. It's the reason we could move here actually, him winning the world championship. He became very famous, and not just in Midgar. He got all kinds of calls for commercials, brands who wanted to sponsor him, even modeling contracts. Can you believe that? Kind of annoying really, but it sure pays well.' He said, sounding a little embarrassed but also amused by Sora's expression of pure disbelief. 'But you're going to meet him soon,' he added, noticing that the Tram had reached the Pradera station.

As they walked out of the tram and into Roxas' street, even the enormous houses couldn't keep Sora from remaining awestruck and silent. He could not believe that he was going to meet the struggle world champion, probably the best fighter on the whole planet. He shook his head. No wonder Roxas could have beaten up Seifer so easily, his brother must have taught him some neat tricks. Wished Leon taught me some tricks as well, Sora thought darkly.

'So which house does that Riku guy live in?' Roxas asked to start some more conversation.

'The big white one with the enormous garden.' Sora said, without hesitation, pointing at his former best friend's large house. It was one of the biggest houses in the street, designed to look like an old-fashioned English manor but nevertheless equipped with all the technology and luxuries money could buy. How often he had stood in this street, looking at Riku's house but lacking the courage to ring the bell and ask him what the hell was wrong with him, he couldn't even remember. He had only been inside twice, both times shortly after he and Riku moved into Twilight town.

'Oh oh, guess that means were neighbors.' Roxas grinned. 'I live in the house next to his, the brownish one with that ridiculous wall around it.'

Sora couldn't help but smile. He had to admit he had always found that wall a little ridiculous, though he'd heard the house had been previously owned by a mysterious musical artist who hated paparazzi and had built it to maintain his privacy.

'So your brother.. Did he buy this house for the extra privacy?' Sora asked as they approached the uninviting looking gate of the house, 'I bet he must be assaulted paparazzi all the time as the new struggle world champion.'

Roxas hesitated, then said: 'Well, the paparazzi don't bother him very much, he says it's all good to have some nice publicity. He moved here because it's an amazing house with an enormous pool and all, and because he hoped it might keep out the stalkers.'

'Your brother has stalkers?' Sora asked in awe. He couldn't even begin to imagine what it would be like to have people so obsessed with you that they followed you around everywhere you went just so they could talk to you.

'Oh yeah, lots of them,' Roxas replied darkly 'mostly girls, but some guys as well and even some kids who want him to teach them to become struggle players. This one girl Tifa actually tackled him on our street in Midgar and tried to force him to make out with her. He took a run for it, of course.'

'What, no way!' Sora exclaimed, horrified.

'Trust me, it got worse. She sneaked into our home and stole half of my brother's clothes. Then she left a note with her cellphone number with a strand of her hair. It said: CALL ME 3 XXFOREVERYOURS TIFA. Of course, Cloud was furious. He called her.'

'He did? Why?' Sora asked in shock.

'Well he thought –' but at that moment a cold, mechanical female voice sounded. 'Welcome visitors.' Sora looked around to see who had spoken but then he realized it had come from the gate itself.

'Please proceed with voice identification.'

'Roxas Strife and guest.' Roxas replied, sounding rather bored.

'Welcome Roxas. Would you mind identifying your guest now so that he can enter the residence in the future?' The voice asked swiftly. He could have imagined it, but Sora thought the voice sounded a little warmer, just as if she knew Roxas and was pleased by his prescence.

'That's fine.' Roxas said.

'Then please proceed with voice registration. Your name please?'

Roxas looked up at him expectantly, so Sora said. 'Sora Leonhart.'

'Hello Sora. What is your date of birth?'

'November 11th, 1994'

'Your adress?'

'Sandlot 24.'

'Sexual preference?'

'What?' Sora cried out. Roxas laughed loudly, then said. 'Cloud must have thought it funny to mess around with our guests a bit. He installed all security technology himself you know.'

'What? Is not a known sexual preference. Rephrasing is required. Choose men, women, men and women or animals.' The voice said smoothly, and Sora could have sworn there was a hint of sarcasm in there. He hesitated. Roxas would hear about his sexual preference at school sooner or later. And anyways, he had sworn to himself always to be honest about who he was, to everyone. For a moment he thought about replying 'animals' just to see Roxas' reaction, but then he spoke: 'Men.'

Roxas looked surprised, but, Sora was pleased to discover, not repulsed or anything.

'Thank you Sora. You are now a registered visitor of the Strife residence, and are permitted to ask for admittance through the intercom. Now kindly look into the camera to your right so that your picture can be taken.'

Sora did so, and he put on a toothy grin right before the camera flashed.

'Thank you again. Identification is completed. Roxas and Sora, access is granted.'

And then, quite smoothly, the gate swung open. As soon as they had passed through it it closed again.'

'Sorry about that,' Roxas said, still grinning, 'Cloud said it's the best security system available. The guy who lived here before us had even installed a trapdoor that leads directly to the sewers. You should see the video of that Tifa girl getting flushed away sometime.' Roxas smiled at the memory. 'I don't know how she found us, but we had only moved in here for a few days and already she tried getting through the gate. It immediately flushed her through, because Cloud had taped a security sample of her voice when he called her. So the system recognized her as a stalker, flushed her away, and she hasn't tried to sneak in since.'

He and Sora burst out laughing. Then Sora looked at the house that had always been obscured by the massive wall surrounding it and for the third time that day, his mouth fell open. It was enormous. It was less tall than Riku's manor, but not by much, and it was stretched across a wider space. It looked very modern but also somewhat classic, consisting of handsome sand-colored bricks and carrying a deep brown roof. The front gate had a small roof of it's own, which was supported by massive pillars made sandstone. The doors were a shiny mahogany with solid golden handles. There were lots of trees in the yard he and Roxas were walking across, and there was a small pond filled with exotic water plants and fish. The grass was a perfect shade of bright green. He was just thinking about how the house wouldn't look out of place in the African savannah when he saw something that made him freeze. A tiger, enormous and red and vicious-looking was stalking towards them. Its fierce, yellow eyes locked with his, and he didn't even dare to breathe. But then Roxas spoke: 'Hiya Diva!' and the tiger seemed to relax; it walked towards Roxas and actually let him stroke it affectionately. But then she growled menacingly at Sora. He jumped backwards; he couldn't help it. For a moment he thought the tiger would jump at him and eat him. Only when Roxas said 'Calm, Diva, he's a friend.' did it seem to accept his presence in the yard, and then it walked towards him in what was probably supposed to be a not very threatening way, but it seriously scared Sora nevertheless. He didn't move, but asked Roxas: 'It… won't bite?' in a disbelieving voice.

'Nah, you're with me. And 'it' is a she. Her name's Diva and if you let her smell you and pet her she'll grow on you and remember you as a family friend.' Roxas sounded as if he found the whole situation quite amusing. With great hesitance, Sora allowed the big cat to smell him, and when she looked up at him expectantly he saw a much gentler expression than before, and he gathered his courage and petted her. Diva let out a satisfied growl. 'Come on, let's get inside.' Roxas said, and he trotted away towards the front door as if nothing had happened. Sora, not exactly willing to remain alone with his newly made furry friend, followed his example. When Roxas just turned the door handle Sora noticed there wasn't a keyhole.

'So your front doors are always open?' He asked in disbelief. So much for security.

'Well, Cloud figured he would want to meet anyone who could get past the gate and Diva, just to ask them how they did it.' And they entered the house. Sora gasped as he saw the interior design. It matched with the exterior perfectly, with the red oak floor and the paintings of wild animals in their natural habitat… They walked into what Sora assumed to be the living room. Three large couches formed a square in front of an enormous TV, which was built into the wall and above which hung a very real and very deadly looking samurai sword.

'Cloud!' Roxas called. Sora stiffened a bit at the prospect of meeting his friends' brother. Not only was this Cloud the best struggle player in the world, Sora also knew him to be extremely good looking, as he had seen a picture of him in the school ad he had told Roxas about. Just my luck, Sora thought nervously, that I have a habit of losing my already dubious ability to form logical and grammatically correct sentences around good-looking young men.

Nobody answered Roxas' call, but he didn't call out again, dropping his school bag on one of the couches. 'He's probably in the pool or something.'

Then a rather sour looking blond girl walked into the living room from a corridor. She was wearing an apron, but it looked strangely out of place on her. Her hair was very weird, short but with two large strands standing up in a seemingly impossible way. It made her look like some kind of insect. A very mean insect, Sora thought as he looked at the girl's flashing green eyes. Still, she would have been rather good-looking if it weren't for the look on her face, which was the expression of someone who was being assaulted by a very nasty smell.

'Hello Roxas, welcome back. How was your first day at school?' Her voice was dripping with sarcasm, she sounded as if she really couldn't care less how his day had been.

'It was nice. As you can see, I've brought a friend.' Roxas said, seemingly unimpressed by the girl's hostile demeanor.

'Ah yes,' she said, her eyes locking with Sora's, 'Welcome to the Strife residence. I am Larxene. Would you like something to drink?'

She doesn't even ask for my name, Sora thought. She must be a maid or something. Probably wants to get back to whatever it was she was doing before we got here. 'Uhm yes, that would be nice. Do you have pineapple juice?'

'I certainly do. What about you?' She demanded, once more looking at Roxas.

'The same please. Is Cloud outside?' Roxas asked, still sounding quite relaxed.

'Yes, he's just finished his workout with mr. Zack.' She said disinterestedly. 'Now they're rather enjoying himself in the hot tub.' She looked meaningfully at Roxas.

'Oh gosh not again.' Roxas said, looking at Sora, grinning. 'Let's go then, time for you to meet my brother.'

As Larxene went off to get the drinks, Roxas and Sora walked towards the door that let to backyard. Before they stepped through, however, Roxas looked at Sora as if he had something to say that made him really uncomfortable.

'Hey Sora,' he started apprehensively, 'there's something you should know about my brother… You know how he's Struggle Champion and really famous and people think he's the hottest thing out there and all that?'

Sora nodded, wondering where this was going.

'Well, he kind uses the way people adore him to…' he looked like he couldn't say it, ' well it's just that… he has these extreme hormones and he… he kind of flirts with everyone he thinks moderately good looking and he likes to sleep around a lot.' He said this last part very quickly, and looked up at Sora as if he expected him to run out of the house, screaming.

'Uhm,' Sora started, unsure how to react to this information, 'that's ehm fine. I don't mind or anything.'

'Okay good,' said Roxas, clearly relieved, 'so just ignore him if he starts flirting with you. He does that with everyone and it always really annoys me.'

Sora went very red. Nobody had ever flirted with him, and certainly nobody as good-looking at Roxas' brother. Well, just one other guy really… 'Okay, I'll just ignore him then. If he.. You know, flirts with me or something.'

'Good, then let's go.' Roxas said, stepping through the door. It led to a huge balcony with a barbecue and a few couches on it. Sora gasped at the view it provided over the backyard. He had only seen Riku's backyard once and had been impressed by how big it was and how well taken care of and all that, but Roxas' backyard was way cooler. It basically looked like a jungle. There were lots of exotic looking plants everywhere, and they all looked like whoever had planted them had looked at them and said: 'Just grow however the hell you want to as long as you stay out of the house.' Then there were these big rocks everywhere, some overgrown by plants, other's not. Sora shivered as he saw Diva perched on one of said rocks, seemingly taking a nap. Close to the balcony was a big clearing with a huge swimming pool in it. It was a very strange shape, a twisted oval rectangular.. Thing. The inside of the pool was painted a bright turquoise, so it might have looked like it could be a natural pond in the jungle if it wasn't so clean. Over one side of the pool hung something that looked very much like pride rock from the Lion King, and Sora understood you were supposed to dive from it. Also in the clearing, a few yards away from the pool was a crater that was filled with bubbling water. But it wasn't the way the hot tub looked that caused Sora to stare at it, it was the people who were in it. Sora found himself looking at two of the hottest guys he had ever seen, making out as if their lives depended on it. One of them, blonde and spiky haired and muscular, Sora recognized as Roxas' brother. He was sitting on the other guy's lap and had both of his arms wrapped around his neck. The other guy was just as good looking, taller but equally muscular, with hair that was also spiky but longer and black instead of blond, and bright blue eyes that radiated pleasure. One of these hands was behind Cloud's head, gently pushing the blond even deeper into their passionate kiss. His other was under the water, probably clutching Cloud's butt, Sora thought. The other guy must be Zack, then. He couldn't help but get aroused by the sight, and he almost moaned himself as Cloud let out a satisfied whimper when Zack started kissing his neck. Roxas seemed extremely annoyed but not at all surprised to find his brother like this. He gestured towards Sora to follow him towards the hot tub. He loudly cleared his throat.

'Ahemm….'

Both of the divine looking males looked up at them, and for one wild moment Sora felt the urge to squeal: 'Just.. Carry on please!' but thankfully he managed restrain himself.

'Err, hey there Rox!' Cloud said, a little too brightly. He quickly rolled off Zack's lap and made his way to the other side of the hot tub in a rather forced looking way. 'And you've brought a friend! Good for you, making friends on your first day at your new school! Hey there friend, what's your name?'

Roxas said nothing but simply continued to glare at his brother in an accusing sort of way.

'It's Sora,' Sora said rapidly, eager to break the silence as fast as possible, 'Sora Leonhart. So you're Cloud, right?' he already knew the answer of course, but Cloud seemed to appreciate the question.

'That's right!' he said with a wink at Sora that caused a shiver to run down the brunet's spine, 'Oh and this is Zack my… errr… training partner and bodyguard. Do you guys want anything to drink or something?' Zack smiled at Sora in an embarrassed sort of way at the mention of his name. Wow nice teeth, the brunet couldn't help himself thinking.

'Larxene's already getting us something,' Roxas stated, 'but she's not getting anything for you and Zack.' He added, sounding rather mean. 'Maybe you should call her. Make yourself useful for a change.'

'Err… right. Larxeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeene!' Cloud yelled. Sora thought there was a very good chance the sour maid would just ignore them, but appeared in the doorway he and Roxas had just came through with an unlikely smile on her face.

She walked passed him and Roxas as if they didn't exist and dashed down the steps to the hot tub with surprising agility.

'What can I do for you mister Strife?' she said in a rather sultry voice, and to Sora's surprise and disgust she scratched Cloud's head in an almost affectionate manner. Wow she sure like's him a lot more than she does Roxas, Sora concluded.

'Hey there,' Cloud said, grinning sheepishly, 'Uhm, could you get us whatever you got Sora and Rox?'

'Whatever you like sir,' she purred, hurrying of through a door under the balcony.

Roxas looked just as surprised as Sora at her behavior.

'What the hell was that about?' he demanded.

'Uhm… What?' Cloud innocently.

'She looked like a cat in heat!' Roxas cried, then he looked as if he understood something that didn't please him at all. 'You slept with her.'

'No!' Cloud cried out, but when Roxas continued to glare at him, he said. 'Okay… I did. But I was drunk and…. And… Zack help out please?' he finished hopelessly.

'Well,' Zack spoke, grinning as if he wasn't embarrassed at all, 'me and Cloud were just fooling around a little in the upstairs bedroom yesterday, and then she walked in on us, and Cloud had drunk A LOT of cocktails,' he looked briefly at the older blond who blushed, 'so he asked "want to join in on this?"'

'I was only joking!' cried Cloud when he saw the appalled look on Roxas' face. 'But then she smiled and she just undressed and before anyone knew what was happening she in between us and she, well…' his voice died away as he looked redder than ever.

'You can probably guess what happened next.' Zack concluded. 'But boy, I never thought that girl had in her, she always seemed so icy and all.'

'Yeah,' Cloud said dreamily, 'but she was pretty good beneath the sheets. I never thought I'd see her hoist her legs behind her ears and just –'

'Ahem.'

Everyone jumped. No one had seen Larxene approach, but she was standing in the shadow of the balcony holding a tray with four large glasses of pineapple juice.

'Your drinks, sirs.' She said with a rather smug looking smile. She looked amused, like she knew quite well what they had just been talking about.

'Uhm, errr, thanks.' Cloud muttered. She gave him a naughty sort of wink, and then stalked away into the house, leaving the tray of pineapple juices on the edge of the hot tub. An extremely uncomfortable silence followed, but then Zack said: 'So.. why don't you guys join us in the hot tub?' looking hopefully at Roxas and Sora.

'Sure,' Roxas said, happy that they had dropped the subject of their surprisingly slutty maid.

'But Sora doesn't have his swim suit with him.'

'Well just let him borrow yours for a bit, you don't mind, do you Sora?' Cloud said helpfully.

'No that's quite alright.' Sora replied quickly, and as Roxas led him into his room to change, he couldn't believe he would soon be sitting in the hot tub with the super hot world struggle champion and his equally hot playmate. His life was getting better and better every minute, ever since Roxas had joined him at his table in the dingiest corner of the cafeteria.


	4. Chapter 4

Hi everyone!

Mochiusagi, Selendis, Deion-Kun, Akemi713 and Gxmwp, thanks a bunch for the reviews! You guys make me so happy!

So here's the next chapter, introducing some of Riku's feelings... Hope you like it ;) Please tell me what you think of it because I had a bit of a writer's block on this chapter and your opinions are really helpful.

So without further delay: chapter 4! Enjoy! Dahlia out.

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><p>Chapter 4 – Riku's Regrets<p>

Oh my god… Sora thought. He was in the hot tub with Cloud, making out like the world was ending. The older guy was an amazing kisser. He kissed Sora in a tantalizing, slow manner that made the brunet feel like he was about to faint. His lips are so awesome… Sora thought, feeling delirious as Cloud pulled him onto his lap. He put one hand behind Sora's head and pushed him deeper into the kiss…

"What the hell is going on in here?" a very angry voice exclaimed.

Sora froze.

Roxas had snuck up behind them and was looking extremely mad. He grabbed Sora before anyone knew what was happening and dragged him over to the living room, throwing him in front of their enormous plasma tv. Then the interrogation began.

"Tell me what that was about." Roxas demanded.

"I.." Sora stuttered, "I was just… you know…"

"Making out with my brother?" Roxas finished helpfully.

"Ehm… Well yes. It just… you know… like… just sort of happened…" Sora was having trouble forming a sentence, with Roxas glaring at him like he was a poisonous insect.

"It just sort of happened? I can't believe this!" Roxas looked simply outraged now, "I thought we we were friends! Then the first time I take you over to my house you can't even restrain yourself enough not to get it on with my own brother!"

"I'm so sorry Roxas! He's just so… hot. I couldn't help it, it's just… hormones and everything."

"Hormones? Well then… there's only one way to settle this… once and for all."

Sora looked up at his friend, his eyes filling with fear as he saw that Roxas was now grinning rather nastily in a way that reminded him a little too much of Seifer.

"Wait… What?"

Roxas walked towards the tv and grabbed the samurai sword that was hanging above it. Then he moved between Sora and the door, unsheathed the katana and started advancing mecacingly towards Sora.

"There's only one cure for hormones... And it's a hard one. Castration. Cherish those wild and completely inappropriate sexual desires you are feeling right now, 'cause you're about to lose them forever."

Sora looked at the samurai sword in terror, and tried to run away but suddenly Seifer, of all people, was standing behind him and held him in his place. He struggled violently, but Roxas was drawing closer and closer….

"No, no, please! I'm sorry, I'll never do it again! No please… I beg you… NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

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><p>And Sora woke up. He was panting heavily, still feeling the intensity of the dream. It took him a moment to realize he hadn't been castrated, and that it had all been just a dream… He shuddered, and promised himself never to make out with Roxas' brother, no matter how hot and godlike he was… Then he calmed down a bit and started going over what had really happened at Roxas' house. It had been amazing. First they had lounged in the hot tub for a bit, sipping from gigantic glasses of pineapple juice. They had talked about Sora, how he had moved here with his brother Leon, how he liked Twilight High… Sora lied then, of course, but looked at Roxas meaningfully. And then they started talking about sports, the struggle tournament, and blitzball. Sora had let slip that he was thinking about signing up for the struggle tournament, and Cloud had offered him private lessons, for free! He had winked too… That was when Sora knew he couldn't say no. And then he found out Cloud's playmate Zack was actually a pretty good blitzball player, and they had played blitzball in the pool for a little bit. Sora won with Zack against the Strife brothers, partially because Sora, Cloud and Roxas were pretty good and Zack was great and also because there was a chemistry between Sora and Zack that was way better than the chemistry between the two blonds, but mostly because everytime Zack tackled Cloud the latter just started laughing and shouting: "More, more, MORE!", handing Zack the ball and an easy goal.<p>

In the end, after Roxas was done scolding and attemting to strangle Cloud, he swam to Sora and said he was a pretty good player and that they should try out for the school team together. Sora, who was half appalled, half-thrilled to try out for the blitzball team that included some of the hottest guys in all the school, including Riku, couldn't think of any palpable reason not to except explaining about Riku, so he just shrugged. He knew Roxas was not gonna let it go though. Then they had had dinner together, talking about the match they had just played and about the idea of Roxas and Sora being on the school blitzball team. Zack thought they definitely had the potential, and Cloud thought it would be a great opportunity for Roxas to 'loosen up and get it on' with some hot and athletic blitzball players. Roxas started blushing furiously and Sora had changed the subject to Larxene's cooking, which was pretty good aside from her constant hinting that she might have slipped some poison in one of their dishes. "Don't worry, she always says things like that. It's just her way of making diner entertaining I guess." Cloud assured him.

After that, they had watched a horrible horror movie called Jennifer's Body starring Megan Fox, which was so bad that they spent the entire movie laughing at the lame story line and Megan Fox' nonexistent acting skills. Then it was time for Sora to go home, and Cloud gallantly offered him a ride on his motorbike. Roxas thought that wouldn't be such a good idea for some dark reason that probably involved Cloud's hotness and looseness, so he said Zack couldn't miss Cloud and that Sora could just take the tram. Sora said that was fine indeed, though part of him was disappointed at the lost opportunity to spend some time alone with Cloud, whom he had grown to like more and more… He cheered up, however, when Cloud told him to come over next Wednesday for the private struggle lessons. While sitting in the tram on his way home he found himself feeling happier than he had felt for a very long time. Roxas, Cloud and Zack were so nice to him, and they were… so cool. The prospect of trying out for the blitzball team made him feel pretty good as well.

Sora still felt happy when he woke up next morning, and after taking a hot shower he went downstairs to find out his brother had already left. God Leon works hard, Sora thought. But that was the reason they lived in a nice house now, though it was nowhere near as luxorious as Roxas'. Sora knew almost nothing about the work his brother did, only that he worked long shifts and often entire nights, and that he could be called 24/7 to come over to his workplace. He felt a warm wave of appreciation for his older brother as he poured himself some lucky charms. It was pretty lonely to have breakfast all by himself, but he was used to it and cheered up by the prospect of seeing Roxas again at school, and it was with that in mind that he set off even earlier than usual.

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><p>"Dude, I'm telling you, this new kid must be a samurai or something. He kicked his ass. Like, easily." All everyone at school was talking about was Roxas, and how he had put Seifer, the big bad school bully, in his place. Axel, who had of course witnessed the entire event, was telling his friends Riku, Kairi and Namine all about it.<p>

"He's not a samurai, Axel." Kairi said irritatably, 'he just knows how to fight. Maybe he is an enthousiastic struggle player of something.' She glanced hopefully towards Riku, as if she expected him to shout something like: "Wow, amazing theory!" but her boyfriend looked like he wasn't paying attention. Instead, he was staring at the corner of the cafeteria, where two boys who looked strikingly alike except for their hair color were talking enthousiastically. So Sora had made a new friend, he pondered. Quite a popular friend as well. That's good for him. He felt a sharp pang of shame and jeasousy as he watched his former best friend. He still hated himself for doing what he had done, though he hadn't had much of a choice at the time.

"So where is Seifer now anyways?" Namine asked, breaking Riku out of his thinking.

"He called in sick," Axel said, grinning broadly, "probably too ashamed to show his face or something."

"Serves him right," Kairi said nastily, "always bragging about how tough and streetwise he is, and then he gets his ass handed to him by someone who is half his size."

"Couldn't agree more,' Axel chuckled, "his crownies are probably taking care of him. Hayner would love to use this opportunity to give Seifer foot massages and stuff."

They all laughed at this, for even Riku had to admit Hayner's ongoing crush for Seifer was getting clearer and more and more ridiculous by the day. The bell ringed, and Axel and Riku set off towards their next class together after Kairi had given him a rather wet 'see you soon' kiss. Blergh. Riku thought Kairi was getting needier and more annoying lately, which was really something considering how needy and annoying she had been from the start. But she was part of the great sham that was his life. Part of his unrelenting struggle to please his father. Riku thought back bitterly about how he had told his father he was in love. With his best friend, Sora. His father had simply said: "That is unacceptable. You just think you are in love with him because he is your best friend. There can be no such thing as love between two people of the same gender. I do not want you to spend any more time with this boy. I will sever all ties with his family as well, just in case." And to Riku's disgust he had then fired Sora's brother Leon, who had been a very efficient security manager at Sephiroth's company, without any expanation. He then kept directing Riku to slowly push Sora away, threatening to disown him if he didn't, and hinting that he might 'arrange an accident' for Sora if Riku failed to do so. Riku had been convinced by this threat, knowing that his father would let nothing get in the way of his family's good reputation. And so he had pushed Sora away. It killed him, but he knew he had to. Sora never understood, of course, and was very hurt by the entire process. And then his father had kept asking him if he had a girlfriend or not, and when Riku told him 'no' he was displeased and had told him he expected that to change. "There is no reason for a young man with your looks and talents not to enjoy female company." And so Riku started dating Kairi, the head cheerleader and typical stereotype of a high school prom queen. He had never liked her. He still wasn't over Sora and he had never found girls attractive, but he made out with her and brought her home with him to introduce to his father, who had called her a 'charming young lady' and 'a worthy companion'.

Lately she seemed intent on getting him to bed her, but he kept ignoring her increasingly obvious hints that she wanted to do the deed. He wasn't ready for that, and certainly not with her.

That was what Riku thought about as he and Axel were walking towards English class, but when Axel asked him what was up he simply replied 'nothing'.

Axel shrugged, knowning Riku wasn't going to talk about it if he didn't want to. Then something on the message board caught his eye.

"Hey look, tryouts for the blizball team! Wow, lots of people signed up already!"

This attracted Riku's attention, because he had been blitzball captain for two years and had no intention of allowing that to change. They walked towards the tryout list.

"Hmpf. Ridiculous that everyone who was on the team last year had to try out again." Riku snorted, some of his father's infamous arrogance surfacing.

"Well, there's a new coach so I figure he wants the best players out there and tries to give everyone a fair shot." Axel shrugged. "Guess we'll just have to sign up like everybody else."

And so they did, but then Riku read a name on the list that made him freeze.

"What now?" Axel asked amused, but then he saw what Riku was staring at and burst out laughing. "Haha, way to break the stereotype for that Sora kid to try out. Hey, looks like Roxas is gonna try out as well." Riku raised his eyebrows at Axel's intrigued tone. "Well, if he's as good a blitz player as he is a fighter I think he might make the team."

As they walked on, Riku kept thinking about Sora trying out for the team. Maybe he felt more confident about himself now that he and this Roxas kid were friends. Unlike Axel, Riku knew Sora had always had some talent as a blitzball player. Well, the idea of him being on the team was interesting to say the least.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 – Tryouts

"You ready for the tryouts this afternoon?" Roxas asked, grinning. He was clearly oblivious to the dread Sora was feeling right now.

"Uhm… Sure!" He squeaked. The problem was, he wasn't sure at all. He felt like he was going to be sick. The entire week he had been worrying about this day. The day he was going to try out for the blitzball team. He tried very hard to remember how Roxas had talked him into signing up for the team in the first place. Oh yeah, it had started with Zack, the 'friend' Roxas' brother liked making out with in the hot tub. He had been a really good blitz player, and had somehow managed to inspire Sora into believing that he, too, could be a succesful athlete. What a joke.

And now, in just a few hours, he would have to compete with Riku, Seifer, Axel and all of the other jocks. He, the squirt, scrawny little Sora. And then there was Roxas, with his annoyingly positive attitude. He, contrary to Sora, was acting as if he was sure the two of them would make the team. Maybe he really was sure of that. But Sora definitely wasn't. Sure, he and Riku had been the best blitzball players at their old school on Destiny Island, but he hadn't practiced for two years and he hadn't grown to be very athletic or something. Contrary to Riku, who was a head taller than Sora and way more muscular. Still, there was one part of him that kept reassuring himself that he had a chance. He was very quick and a really good passer. All the guys in the current blitzball team were tall and strong. Maybe they could use a bit of variation, and maybe he and Roxas were just what they needed.

Even so, he still had every right to be nervous. As he and Roxas walked towards the cafeteria, he felt like he was about to faint. Even if he did make the team; Seifer and his lackeys would make him regret the moment he joined. It was in a dreamlike state that he grabbed a sandwich and noted how everyone looked at him and Roxas, undoubtedly whispering about the upcoming tryouts. They took a seat, and Roxas kept chatting away about how great it would be if they made the team, while Sora was just pretending to listen and making affirmative sounds every now and then.

At the other end of the cafeteria Riku was still wondering about Sora trying out for the team. This new friend of his must have given his self-confidence a considerable boost to make him try out for a team that consisted of some of the most popular guys in school, himself included.

"So…" Axel began with a wolfish grin, "Lots of people signed up this year. But after last year, we're pretty much garanteed a spot, right?"

"Pretty much." Riku agreed. Last year they had almost won the championship, thanks to Axel's amazing goalkeeping and Riku's perfect strategies and super fast passes.

"I just can't wait to see the squirt trying to tackle anyone." Seifer commented with his usual nasty smile.

"Well if I were you I'd just keep an eye on Roxas or you might find yourself injured before the season's even started." Axel said, laughing loudly.

"Who asked you…" Seifer muttered darkly. The funny thing was, whenever anyone mentioned Roxas, Seifer would look around anxiously as if he feared an ambush by the small blond.

"No one, but when did that ever stop me?"

Riku grinned to that. Of all his new friends, the people he hung out with now, he like Axel and Namine best. Axel because of his witty humour and the way he always kept a conversation interesting and Namine because of the way she just seemed to understand eveyone around him.

He even suspected she understood the complicated nature of his relationship with Sora.

"We'll just have to wait and see what goes down at the trials." He said, concluding the conversation.

"Ok, you lot. All of you are here because you think you have it in you to make the team. Last year we came in second. This year we'll win it all. I want everyone in my team to understand that nothing is more important than victory. You'll have to make sacrifices; your personal life comes second. Good grades come second. And most of all, your stupid little conflicts come second. Everyone in the team needs to respect each other, and that's the end of it. If anyone thinks they can't handle that truth, I politely infite them to leave right now." Cid's gaze lingered on Seifer for a moment, but when not one of the guys spoke up, he continued.

"Today we're gonna go through a series of excercises that will allow me to see exactly how fit you are and whether you already have some technique. I need to know excactly what I'm working with, and for that I will need three hours of your time. We're gonna go through the tryouts in rounds. After the first two rounds I'll send some of you away. First round is swimming. You can shoot like a pro but if you can't swim, you have no place in my team. So get your bony asses in the pool and get to work!" His last sentence was a bellow that sent everyone jumping into the sphere pool where Cid told them they were to swim from one end to the other, and as they did so Cid began to shout the names of the unlucky guys that lagged behind and wouldn't get past the first round of the tryouts. Ten boys had left the sphere pool after the swimming round. Sora was feeling a little more confident. He found out he was one of the fastest boys trying out, along with Riku and Roxas. The second round was passing. Sora excelled with this; Cid actually complimented him afterwards : "That's some pretty good passes right there, little guy." Sora blushed furiously and turned his head away, though he did see Seifer looking at him with pure hatred in his eyes. It was evident passing wasn't his strong point, or anything that had to do with teamwork.

After this Cid paired all of them up and told them to tackle each other in turn to test their tackling skills and their endurance at the same time. Sora knew endurance was a weak spot of his, so he was determined to make up for this with his tackling abilities. The pairs kept changing; Sora was eventually paired up with Riku; he tried very hard not to look at Riku's flawless abs but he couldn't ignore the intense feelings that coursed through his body as Riku tackled him harshly and grabbed the ball. Then, when it was his turn to tackle Riku, and as he looked Riku in the eye for a brief moment, he lost all concentration and wasn't able to grab the ball from him, even though he had succesfully tackled everyone else he was paired up with. Riku's eyes were like the sea; beautiful and infinitely deep; as if they could pierce right through him.

After that he was paired up with some guys he didn't know; he managed to grab the ball from every one of them but he got tackled badly a few times as well. His endurance was lacking mainly because of his size; he simply wasn't strong enough to withstand tackles from people who were more powerfully built than he was. He noticed most guys just tried to overpower their opponents; save for him and Roxas. Zack had taught them they could snatch the ball from guys twice their size if they had enough technique, and it came in very handy.

Then he was paired up with Seifer. He had been silently dreading this moment for the duration of the excersize; and now it was there. Seifer didn't say anything degrading to him because Cid had stopped to watch them intently.

Sora saw him watching before Seifer dove at him. For the blink of an eye, Sora pretended to prepare to swim to the right, and then at the last moment he dove toward the left. Seifer had already chosen his direction, a look of triumph on his face. He was too late to realize Sora's feint, and missed. An angry group of bubbles escaped his mouth, and then it was Sora's turn to tackle. If he could just grab the ball from Seifer, he was bound to make the team. He lunged forward very fast; he knew speed was one of his talets. Then he kept his eyes on the ball, and when he saw Seifer move the ball forward, hoping for Sora to miss it, he grabbed it with a flick of his wrist. The look on his bully's face was priceless as he tried to shout in frustration. But the respectful nod Cid gave him was just as rewarding.

Finally, it was time for shooting. Sora and Roxas didn't do well, but they hadn't been expecting to, because they knew that if they were gonna make the team, it would be as defenders or midfielders; certainly not on offense. Seifer, Riku and two guys named Tidus and Wakka shined in this. Sora knew Tidus and Wakka only by face; ;he had sometimes seen them together in the cafeteria with a group of cheerleaders and had always noted how good-looking Tidus was.

Some guys had chosen to try out as goalies: Axel was by far the best of them, as he was the only one who managed to block some shots by Seifer, Tidus, Wakka and Riku. After the shooting, they all left the pool and coach Cid gave them the closing speech.

"All right you suckers I want you to know that all of you can play ball just fine, otherwise you wouldn't have made it past the first two rounds. However, I'm trying to form the best team possible, and that means that I'll select the best defenders, the best midfielder and the best forwards. I'll base my decision on what I've seen today and on nothing else. If you were in the team last year and think you've got some kind of special advantage or something; think again."

Seifer shuffled uncomfortably at this, and Sora couldn't help but grin to himself before Cid continued.  
>"Tomorrow you'll see a list in the hallway, and on that list you'll find the ten names of the players that made the team. That's 2 defenders, a midfield player, 2 forwards and of course a goalie, as well as four bench players. It won't say as what I've chosen you, we'll discuss that in the first trianing. Any questions?" Without waiting for one, he finished "Well then, good job today everyone and don't be too disappointed tomorrow if you haven't made the team. All right then, off with you!"<p>

Everyone shuffled off to the locker rooms, where Sora was relieved to find out everyone planned on showering at home. The after-match shower was something Sora especially dreaded; he REALLY didn't need his lingering affection for Riku or his twisted admiration for Seifer's body to show.

"So," Roxas began while they changed into their casual clothes, "that went really well, don't you think? I mean, we're not guaranteed a spot in the team, like Riku is sure to make midfielder again and Axel was clearly the best goalie, but I think we'll at least make the bench."

"Yeah," Sora agreed, putting on his T-shirt as he spoke, "I think we did.. good. Only the shooting wasn't too good, but we expected that, right"

Seifer kept giving him the evil eye while they changed, Sora coulnd't help but notice. Riku, on the other hand, was looking at him with a weird, thoughtful expression. Sora shivered, he couldn't help it with those beautiful eyes looking at him. God, I really need to get over Riku… he thought to himself. His performance at the tackling exercise still haunted him a little bit.

"Can't wait until tomorrow!" Roxas said, clearly excited, and Sora found he really did agree.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 – Crushes

"Leon." Sora rolled his eyes at the way his brother picked up the phone, as always. He NEVER used more than one word to answer the phone.

"Hey Squall, just called to let you know I'm having dinner at Roxas' place tonight."

"Ok, but I'm gonna pick you up at 8 then, be outside right on time."

"You don't have to, I could just take the tram."

"Remember that one time you took the tram home and I found you beaten up in some dark corner of the back alley? I'm picking you up, and that's final."

Shuddering at the memory, Sora said, "Fine. I'll see you at 8 then!"

"Wait a minute. Tell me about the tryouts."

He remembered! Sora thought, blissful that his brother inquired about th thing he wanted to talk about so desperately. "Yeah, it went really well! Roxas thinks we're gonna make the team, and I think I sort of agree with him."

"That's good. Have a good time, Sora."

"Bye Squall."

"Thanks Larxene!" Cloud said cheerfully as Larxene served dinner. He went perfectly red as she gave him a very dirty wink in response. After she had gone, Cloud said: "Maybe I should just fire her. She keeps acting really weirdly around me lately."

"Maybe you shouldn't have slept with her, then." Roxas remarked drily.

"Please Roxas, we have a guest." Cloud said, blushing once more.

They were having dinner in the Strifes' handsome dining room. They were sitting at one end of an enormous table where 20 people could sit around easily. It was made of some kind of exotic wood, Sora figured, and the chairs were extremely comfortable. On the wall Sora was facing hung a picture of Cloud, Roxas and their huge tiger, Diva. Cloud and Roxas were both hugging Diva with one arm. The enormous cat seemed to be growling in pleasure.

Sora, who actually thought Roxas had just made a very good point, was relieved when Cloud changed the subject.

"So, how did you guys do at the tryouts? Did any of the stuff Zack taught you come in handy?"

"It sure did," Sora said, grinning, "I was actually a bit nervous when we started out, but I think it went really well in the end."

"Of course it did," Cloud said, winking, "you're an amazing blitz player Sora!"

Sora blushed furiously at the wink, and prayed Roxas didn't notice him doing so. Cloud was always winking at him and smiling at him, and being a big flirt in general, but Sora figured that was just the way he was with everyone. His friend's brother probably didn't notice how his flirty behaviour affected Sora, who wasn't accostomed to anyone even being nice to him, let alone flirting with him. Especially someone as cool and good-looking as Cloud, who had recently been voted sexiest man alive by a major glossy.

"Well, Zack certainly helped us out," Roxas said reasonably, "We couldn't have performed as well at the tackling exericse without his help. I managed to tackle some guys who were twice my size! Sora even got Seifer, right Sora?"

"Yup!" Sora announced proudly, "you should've seen the look on his face! And coach Cid was watching all the time, Seifer must've felt really embarrassed."

"Haha did you see his face when Cid said that being on the team last year didn't guarantee you a spot this year?"

"Hihi sure did! He must have known Cid was talking about him… He really ruined his chances."

"Well nice going you guys. Sounds like you had a good time at least," Cloud concluded, stretching lazily. Sora couldn't help but admire Clouds strong muscles, which were clearly visible in the tight T-shirt he was wearing.

"Hey Sora, let's go play a video game!" Roxas said.

"Sure!" Sora said, and off they went.

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><p>As Riku easily scored another hit on his brother Kadaj during their fencing game, he thought of Sora. How in control he had seemed during that blitzball session. He hadn't been wrong about not underestimating Sora…<p>

"Can't you just let me win for once?" His older brother asked jokingly but with a serious note to it. It had been two years since he had beaten his younger brother for the last time. Riku had to admire his spirit for still hoping for a win after so many defeats.

"That wouldn't be very satisfying for you Kadaj." He said truthfully.

"Aww well, let's just quit and get something to eat."

Get something to eat. They only had dinner with the entire family when his father was home, which was less and less often as of late. Not that Riku minded. His father's presence cast a shadow over his brothers and himself. He was always comparing them and idealizing Riku.

"Loz, be a little more like Riku and get an A for a change. Your consistent B's are a discgrace to our family."

"Yazoo, do some push-ups for pity's sake. You look like a skeleton revived by a particularly incompetent necromancer. Look at Riku, do **his **arms look like fragile little twigs? I think not."

And so on, and so on. His father never seemed to tire at pointing out Riku's superiority. It was incredibly tiring.

As he and his brother prepared and shared a silent meal Riku felt thankful towards his brothers. They had never hated him for being their father's obvious favourite. They had accepted it and they'd never hold it against him.

Then he thought of Sora some more, of the way he had tackled Seifer… He felt almost jealous of this Roxas kid. He was stronger than him, in a way. He chose to be friends with whoever he wanted to be friends with, and he didn't care about them being impopular and hurting his reputation or something. That was something he couldn't bring himself to do, and he felt really bad about it… It was mostly because of his father, of course. Being his favourite meant he couldn't do anything that would jeopardize his popularity or his perfect image. That included being friends with a homosexual like Sora. Riku shook his head. That such an intelligent man could be so narrow-minded.. And he continued to curse his weakness for not standing up against his father.

* * *

><p>"Aargh! I thought I had you for sure this time!" Sora shouted out in frustration as Roxas beat him again.<p>

"Well, you were wrong, it seems." Roxas said with a very satisfied look on his face.

The brunet continued to pout so Roxas said. "Aww, don't feel bad Sora. Nobody can beat me at Mortal Kombat. Not even Cloud, and he calls himself 'the king of video games'."

"That doesn't make me feel any better." Sora grumbled, though he was grateful that Roxas had tried to cheer him up a bit.

"Hey Sora," Roxas said, in a strange uncertain voice that didn't quite suit him, "you like guys right?"

"Uhm.. Yeah that's right," Sora said, blushing and feeling puzzled at the sudden change of subject.

"Well… When did you know? That you were gay, I mean."

"I think I've known for some time." Sora said thoughtfully. "I guess I've always been kind of in love with Riku, but I never really thought about it and I just felt like it was part of our friendship or something… Sometimes we used to wrestle, for silly reasons. He was always trying to prove his superiority, and I supposed I kind of liked it…" It felt good to share this with someone, and Roxas didn't laugh at him or anything but just looked at him with his serious blue eyes and nodded sometimes.

"Well if I went against him he would tackle me and tickle me to death or something and it just felt so good, being close to him like that… So I would tell him he was wrong about things more and more just so he would force me to submit.. It's kind of sad, really." He finished almost apologetically.

"No it's not." Roxas assured him. "I think it's normal if you like someone like that."

"Have you ever had a crush on someone before?" Sora asked in a whim. He was very curious, it was hard to imagine Roxas having a crush on someone. He was always so cool and on top of things.

"Hmm…" the blond boy began very seriously, "yes, I think I have actually. But it was stupid… He was my brother's boyfriend at the time. It was the only reason I ever saw him."

He? Sora thought. So Roxas is gay as well?

"His name was Reno… He was very cool, skinny but muscular with great emerald eyes and fiery red hair…"

Sounds like Axel… Sora found himself thinking.

"I would look at him making out with Cloud and feel really jealous. His boyfriends are always good-looking, but no one was like Reno. He was not just hot in a physical way.. he was really cool and mysterious, and he has amazing voice that made my skin crawl." He blushed before he continued, "Sometimes I would sneak up on him and Cloud when they were making out and just watch Reno…. It felt so wrong and perverted, but I couldn't help myself," he grinned "So you enjoying Riku tickling you isn't as weird as you think it is."

"Hahaha I guess not. So what happened between Reno and Cloud?"

"Well, Cloud cheated on him of course. He always cheats on his boyfriends eventually. He's really not a bad person or anything but he just has absolutely no self-control," he sniggered, "He once said:'I'm kind of like a lizard. I need something warm beneath me or I can't digest my food.'"

"Haha oh my god he actually said that? That's brilliant!" Sora said. _You wouldn't mind keeping him warm at night_… said a small voice in his head, but he ignored it.

"Yeah.. at least he's aware of his own shortcomings. So anyway, one day Reno came in to surprise Cloud. I knew Zack was with Cloud but I didn't say anything to Reno. Maybe I wanted him to break up with Cloud… So Reno went to Cloud's bedroom and walked in on him and Zack in a rather unorthodox position and stormed out of the house. Cloud felt really bad about it afterwards and called him like a thousand times to apologize. Finally, Reno agreed to meet him." He shook his head. "Cloud really messed up. He always knows how to say the wrong thing."

"What did he say?" Sora asked, feeling very curious.

"I feel embarrassed just talking about it… He told Reno that Zack was a great guy who didn't mind sharing and that Reno should feel free to 'join in on the fun'."

"Ouch." Sora said. _Well, little hypocrite, I know YOU wouldn't mind joining in on the fun_. Oh great, the annoying voice is still around.

"So Reno was really mad, naturally, and he told Cloud to grow up and left. Cloud hasn't heard from him since."

"Oh wow, I guess your brother really can be clueless."

"Yeah that's right. Hey, you wanna watch another movie? How about Immortals, I heard it's very gory and I kinda feel like something gory."

"Sounds good," Sora said carelessly, taking a quick look at his watch. He cursed.

"Aww crap, Leon's picking me up in, like, 2 minutes."

"That's too bad…." Roxas looked a bit disappointed so as Sora put on his shoes he felt like he should cheer him up.

"I'll be here again tomorrow! You're brother's gonna give me some struggle training."

"Wow I don't envy you then. He's incredibly strict as a trainer. Hence his favorite perverted saying: 'why work if you're not working hard?'. "

_You're in for a treat_, the voice in Sora's head commented.


	7. Chapter 7

Another chapter! I'm really curious about your opinions on this one, so feel free to leave a review and make my day...

Also, I'm looking for a beta reader. If you like this story and want to help improving it, and are good at both checking chapters for spelling and phrasing mistakes (I'm Dutch so there must be at least a few ;)) and at giving feedback on story content, please send me a message.

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><p>Chapter 7: Training with Cloud<p>

Oh hell…

It's the only clear thought in Sora's mind as he's panting on the treadmill in Cloud and Roxas' basement. He's been running for ten minutes but those ten minutes had been enough to push his untrained body to the edge. Cloud was standing next to the front of the treadmill with a calm expression on his perfect face. Sora was running 16 km/h for 20 seconds, then 40 seconds of 12 km/h. He was wondering whether it would be easier or not to just run at 16 km/h. Cloud had told him this 'interval' training was designed to improve his condition as fast as possible.

'You have a great body for running. Almost no fat. So we'll start on the treadmill.'

The treadmill. An instrument of torture, it was. Sora's only goal was not to fall off. So simple, and yet so inexpicably difficult…. He had started out cheerfully enough. Running at 12 km/h was easy enough for him. As Cloud turned up the treadmill speed to 13, 14, 15 and finally 16 he had thought 'I can do this'. But the thing was, Cloud had never said anything about how long he would be running. And Sora wasn't about to ask him that. Partially because any attemt to talk would probably result in him falling off the treadmill and humiliating himself, but mostly because Sora knew Cloud would see that as an act of weakness.

'Speeding up.' Cloud said. His voice was neutral, but Sora thought there was a hint of cruelty in the way his lips curled as he pushed the button for speeding up four times. Then he was running at speed again, forcing himself to breathe deeply. That was the only advice Cloud had given him. 'Keep breathing.' He had said it after the 6th minute when Sora had first asked himself: 'How long is he going to have me do this?'

He forced himself not to look at the time. It made it worse, he found. He let his mind go numb but he knew he wouldn't be able to keep going much longer. It was the 12 km/h phase that was the worst. During the 16 km/h phase there was no room for doubts, it was just running, simple as that. But during 12 km/h phase he could feel how tired he was, how heavy his legs were. His eyes flashed downwards, towards the monitor. 14 minutes… Maybe this was Cloud's way of testing him, of assessing his willpower… He was never going to stop the treadmill, he was going to wait until Sora asked him to stop it…

Well, Sora wasn't about to ask him.

Being bullied and having no friends or parents taught Sora one thing. There's no better defense than a strong will. Screw a good offense; just the will to ignore pain and laugh about things that would hurt otherwise had been his biggest help. Cheerfulness was his shield; even though many would think it was cheerfulness for no reason. But he could be cheerful because there were good things about his life too; his close relationship with Leon for example. Also he had this shining hope things were going to get better. And recently they had, thanks to Roxas. And Cloud…

17 minutes. His legs felt like they were going to dislodge themselves from him, no longer willing to be part of a body controlled by such a deranged soul as Sora's. He looked into Cloud's eyes. He hadn't been able to do that before without blushing furiously, but now it's no challenge to face those endless blue depths. Cloud's eyes were not like the sky, like Sora's, but like a deep blue see... He saw his own thoughts about Cloud's plan for this exercise confirmed in those eyes. He was watching Sora intently, looking for signs of weakness. A look that begged him to pull the plug out of the treadmill. But there was nothing of the sort in Sora's eyes. Only a grim satisfaction that he had been right about his trainer's cruel motives.

19 minutes. Sora's mind was in what almost felt like a state of serenity. Leon had taken him running when he was eleven. His brother had always been a skilled athlete. That's why all the girls whispered about him whenever he walked by. Well, a combination of his looks, his talent for sports and his no nonsense personality. Before they even started running Leon had talked for what must have been half an hour about what happened after about 2 miles of running at speed The extra endorphines your body produced would kick in, changing the state of your mind and causing you to feel a weird kind of happiness.

Leon had said it was addicting. But he had been talking about running at the same speed for a long period of time. That was completely different from what Sora was doing. When you were running at a steady pace your body was able to find a rythm. Sora knew; there was a period while he was still at his old high school when he would go running with Riku for what might have been hours. Until he gave up. Of course it was him giving up, never Riku. Even the thought of that seemed ridiculous. Riku had always teased him when he would first fall behind, and then squeal: "Riku… wait…" Always him begging. Always Riku teasing. Always him loving it. What lovely friends they were.

That was the kind of running he was good at. The rythm had allowed his mind to relax, and he might have actually experienced what Leon had told him about. But maybe the happiness he felt during those runs had more to do with Riku than with endorphines…

Now there was no rythm, and his body was unable to accustom to these two different paces. It protested every time he had to speed up to 16 km/h. And everytime Sora felt more inclined to give in. But then he looked at Cloud and his perfect body and he reminded himself why he was doing this. To become like Cloud. Strong and only not intimidating because of his personality.

22 minutes… He wondered what Roxas was doing. Probably feeding Diva or something. He had wanted to watch Sora, but Cloud wouldn't let him. To Sora's surprise, Roxas gave in relatively quickly after Cloud had bluntly stated that it was Sora's training and not his. Well, lucky me. Sora thought.

He wished he had been more prepared for this. That he had kept in shape. The only exercise he had recently gotten were those blizball practices with Zack. Sure they had helped, but they hardly changed the fact that Sora had let his body grow very weak…

23 minutes.. _I can't go on… Maybe my heart will give in and Cloud will give me mouth to mouth breathing…_ He marveled at his mind's ability to think perverse thoughts even in this darkest hour…

24 minutes.. A sting in his belly… Breathing gets harder and harder… He pushes himself to the limits when Cloud turns up the speed.

25 minutes. _Come on, show him you're more than a weak skinny boy, that your mind can go further than your body can… Oh gosh it's going faster again…_ He loses his grip on reality, seeing Cloud but thinking he is an angel. Or maybe he's in hell and this is punishment: forever running on a treadmill, with a cruel angel watching him, ever out of reach. Beautiful and terrible… Turning up the speed and slowing it down again, teasing Sora without mercy…

26 minutes. The sting in his belly fights with his exhaustion for dominance over his mind and body… Cloud turns up the speed. _Go faster! Go! Or else –_ but his body can't do it and there he goes, being shoved backwards immediately as his legs run too slow and slamming on the awful thing with his upper body. It's grinding at his arms, his torso, his face… Cloud shouts something and the treadmill slows down. Sora's breathing very heavily, lying flat-faced on the treadmill, too numb to feel Cloud's arm around him… He vaguely realizes he should maybe say something, perhaps a witty joke to show that he's alive and kicking, but he finds himself unable to talk. Cloud doesn't say anything but pulls him to his feet. Sora just keeps standing bent over, panting for, how long? He slowly regains his senses. He stands up straight and waits for Cloud to say something.

Cloud looks at him and smiles slyly.

'Well, pull yourself together. 1 minute rest and it's time for you to meet Zack's one true love."

Zack's one true love? Wasn't that Cloud? Wildly inappropriate thoughts shoot through Sora's head, but then Cloud says, smiling. 'Squats Sora. Lots and lots of squats.'

Oh hell.

* * *

><p>The next exercise passes by in a blur. The squats are awful after tiring my legs for almost half an hour on that dreaded treadmill. I'm out of shape and my quadriceps are as all of my muscles are. There's a bright side though. Cloud tells me how many. I've never done squats before so Cloud orders me to squat down all the way and then stretch out again 'explosively.' 30 times. Regular squats would probably have been easy for me to do 30 times, but Cloud makes me go down so slowly my muscles quickly start to ache. It's five sets untill he throws a pair of Roxas' swim shorts at Sora and tells him to meet him at the pool in one minute. <em>Well at least the sweat'll be gone… <em>

Sora drags himself to the pool and Cloud is quick to join him. He gives Sora a winning smile the brunet resents.

"So… Can you do the butterly stroke?"

Sora wonder if Cloud wants him to take him seriously. He's grown up on an island. He spent half of his childhood in the sea. Riku and he thought of at least a hundred ways to enjoy themselves in the water.

"Yes, ever since I was 6."

He raises an eyebrow and Sora know he must seem unlikable but is too tired to linger on it.

"Okay, too bad. Guess you won't be learning anything new today." Cloud says with a smile.

_Too bad indeed. Gosh, stop showing off your perfect teeth already. _

"Okay I want you to swim back and forth under water using breast stroke. Then come up and go back and forth freestyle. Then go back and forth butterfly stroke. That will be one set. Let's see how many you can get done in half an hour. "

He curls his lips as he says the last sentence. _Hmm his lips seem thinner than in his pictures. Or maybe they just seem that way because I hate him so much right now. _

Sora dives in without a word. _If Cloud thinks he can break me by ordering me to swim for half an hour he's sorely mistaken._

Because swimming is what Sora was born to do, it is his greates talent. He remembers his first victory over Riku quite clearly.

"_Sora, wanna race?" Riku must have asked me that question over a hundred times. Never in the water though, never in my domain. He can be sure of an easy victory on land; he only keeps asking because it's one of our rituals. But in the water I stand a chance. Riku's physically more powerful than I am in every way, but I was born to swim. There's nothing I love more in this world than the sea. Well, maybe Riku. _

"_To the buoy and back?" It's a casual question, but as I look into Riku's eyes I know he knows what I know: that I have a good chance to win for once, and that I'm taking it. Maybe I imagine the look of, what is it, pride? Before he says 'you're on' and is off. I used to get so mad at him for doing that; taking off while I was still mentally preparing for the race. But I'm used to it and I'm on his tail almost instantly. The half of a second he won won't matter. It's a long way to the buoy. As I use perfect breast crawl to cut through the water I think of Riku's swimming style. His tecnnique is almost flawless, of course, but it's not like when he's running. When he's running you can't help but be smitten by his grace, but when he's swimming he's not graceful. He uses his strength, his speed and his technique to fight the water, to bend it to his will, to overpower it. I don't try that. I become one with the water when I'm swimming. And with the water on my side, Riku doesn't stand a chance. _

_After my victory, I look at Riku, who is panting and so clearly frustrated and angry it's almost pathetic. Amost, but not quite. He's still Riku after all. I'm waiting for him to say something. He looks into my eyes long and hard before speaking. _

"_Let's go get some ice cream." _

_He stalks off and I follow, as always. He's never mentioned the swimming race again. _

Sora swims for thirty minutes, having a great time, not even scared when Diva starts circling the pool (though she looks like she's considering to jump in herself). Cloud just stands there in his Hawaii themed swimming shorts, glistening and gorgeous. His phone starts beeping, signaling the thirty minutes are over. Sora stops his butterfly stroke in the middle of the pool and just floats around lazily.

_Well what did you think of that, mister Strife?_

Cloud smiles at him, but this time it's a genuine smile, real and warm.

"You did well. Let's have diner."


	8. Chapter 8

Hey everyone! A new chapter coming up... I'd like to thank ortz and Maya Tamika for their helpful reviews! Enjoy ;)

Chapter 8 – The Party (part one)

Sora felt all of his muscles ache as Larxene was serving diner. Well, at least the training was over… Cloud was watching him intently, so Sora tried to look proud and energetic.

He hardly noticed Roxas was talking to him.

"Hey Sora, Cloud's having a party here this Friday, you wanna come? There'll be great music and lots of Cloud's celebrity friends."

To Sora's surprise Cloud reacted rather uneasily.

" I don't know if that's such a good idea Rox… Maybe it's a little wild for Sora, you know.."

Sora almost laughed out loud when he heard this. It made him want to go even more.

"Aww c'mon Cloud, you don't have to feel embarrassed about getting drunk in front of Sora."

Cloud started blushing furiously.

"Besides, I don't feel like hanging out with people who are older than me and treat me like a kid all by myself. The party would be much more fun if Sora was there to hang out with me."

"Pff okay then…" Cloud replied, "But Sora, promise me you are not gonna drink any alcohol! I have some friends with absolutely no morals at all and, -"

"Oh, you mean like yourself?" Roxas interrupted him, raising an eyebrow.

"Stop it Rox. You know what I mean. Anyways, some of the people who'll be at the party will definitely flirt with you Sora, and though they'll be hot and cool I don't want you to do anything you'll regret later on, you know?"

"I'll try to restrain myself." Sora said, smiling at the thought of one of Cloud's undoubtedly dreamy friends flirting with him. Why did Cloud expect that, anyway?_ Does Cloud think I'm cute?_

"Okay then, of course you can come! I'm warning you though, it will be unlike any party you've ever been to."

Sora agreed, never having been to any party since he moved to Twilight Town.

"Everyone will probably be wasted within an hour, and people will be making out everywhere. It'll be fun though, everyone who's coming is really great. There'll be lots of dancing. Hey Rox, I asked Demyx and he agreed to sing for a little while!"

"In exchange for seven minutes in heaven, I suppose?" Roxas replied, seemingly disinterested though his face had immediately brightened when he heard the name Demyx.

"No of course not! Come on Rox, I'm with Zack and by the way, Demyx could probably get any guy or girl he wants anyway."

"Wait a minute… You mean _the_ Demyx? The one who won the Twilight Star for the best musical performer last year? The one whose concerts are sold out within 48 hours after tickets are available?" Sora couldn't believe this. Demyx was every teenager's idol. He had started singing at the age of sixteen, and had his first number one single when he was seventeen. After that, it had been hit single after hit single after best-selling album. He had fanclubs in every city and every teenage girl (and many teenage boys) had had a crush on him at some point. _Hearts_ magazine had voted him sexiest man alive two years ago. He had to take extreme security measures against stalkers and paparazzi, who chased him wherever he went. Not much was known about his private life, and many had speculated about his sexuality. Lots of girls thought he was 'too good to be straight'. His last album, post-orgasmic melodies, had sold 20 million copies within a week after its release.  
>"Yup, that sounds like Dem." Cloud said, nodding.<p>

"He used to live here, you know. He's the one who built the wall." Roxas added. "He has the biggest crush on Cloud. It's embarrassing, really."

Sora couldn't even begin to imagine what it would be like when the world's most popular singer had a crush on you.

"So he's gonna perform Friday night? That's crazy! I'm definitely coming now!"

* * *

><p>Sora was surprised to find out that people at his school actually knew about the party. Everyone was talking about it.<p>

"Did you hear? Cloud Strife is having this huge party in his uptown house. Every celebrity is coming, apparently."

"Oh my gosh I would just die to be invited."

"He's just so hot. Did you see him on the cover of Hearts last week?"

"Just imagine, the chance to party with all these hot and famous people…"

Sora felt all the more lucky to be invited. Lots of people were coming up to Roxas, trying to make conversation.

"You're Roxas right? We have geography together." That sort of thing.

Roxas, apparently used to this, treated all of them in the same antisocial manner. Eventually people started whispering that he was arrogant, but that didn't mean they didn't keep trying to make friends with him. They kept coming up to their lunch table, where Roxas and Sora sat together as usual.

"Hey Roxas, you can come sit at our table if you want!" Tidus said with a bright smile.

"No thanks." Was all Roxas said. Tidus shrugged and walked back to the table he shared with the cheerleaders and the jocks.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Riku's friends were also talking about the party.<p>

"Maybe my dad could get me invited." Kairi, whose father was a wealthy media magnate, murmered. All she had been thinking and talking about lately was how she could get invited.

"I really don't see why everyone is so crazy about this." Namine stated blankly.

"Are you kidding?" Kairi exclaimed, "Absolutely every celebrity is coming! It's going to be the party of the year! It is said he hired models to serve drinks and food! Apparently the paparazzi are going to try and use a helicopter to get pictures!"

Riku really didn't see the point of it either. So a bunch of famous people were going to get drunk. Like that was something new.

"So, do any of you know anyone who's actually invited to this thing?" he asked.

"I do," Axel stated with a wicked smile, "my cousin Reno used to date Cloud, you know. He got an invite, but he's still mad at him and is refusing to go. So…. Guess who's going instead of him?"

"NO WAY!" Kairi shrieked, "YOU are invited?"

"Yes me," Axel said, grinning at Kairi's rage, "of course he gave his invite to his favourite cousin Axel, who happened to be very supportive at the time Cloud cheated on him."

Kairi explode in rage on Riku's lap. She nearly flew at Axel in her madness.  
>"This is ridiculous! YOU are going? Why you? You don't deserve this! Give me your invite NOW!"<p>

Riku was even more appalled by his girlfriend than usual. She had absolutely no self-control at all.

"Ehm… No. I want to go. Everyone who'll be there will be hot. The music will be amazing. Forget it Kairi."

"I'll pay you for it! I offer you 10000 munny!"

"You can't buy me." Axel said with a smirk.

"Unbelievable!" Kairi cried. "These invites are impossible to come by, and you have one! This is just great."

Namine smiled serenely, as always. "Do you know anyone who's going Riku? "

"My brother Kadaj. We and Cloud are neighbours, and Kadaj talks to him sometimes. So he got an invite. He's really excited about it."

"WHAT? Your brother is going? Can you steal his ticket for me? I'll make it worth your while…" Kairi purred in what was supposed to be a seductive voice. It repulsed Riku.

"No of course not. He's probably hidden it somewhere or Yazoo would steal it."

Kairi sighed dramatically.

"Maybe we can get in from your place if we use a really high ladder…."

* * *

><p>Sora looked into the mirror for what must have een the 10th time. He was wearing the clothes he liked best: tight bleached jeans and a bright blue shirt. He was wearing the crown necklace his mom had bought him when he was just a little boy. Maybe he was too casual. All those celebrities would probably be wearing the most expensive clothes… But he really didn't have anything fancy to wear..<p>

"Squaaaalllll" he called. He knew his brother probably didn't have anything useful to say about his outfit, but he might as well try anyway. He checked the time again. 20:15…. He had promised Roxas he'd be there at around 9, before the first guests would be arriving…

"What is it, Sora?" his brother sighed.

"Do you think this is nice looking enough for the party?"

"Sure, you look good. We're leaving in half an hour, so be ready."

Be ready… easier said than done.

* * *

><p>"Sora!" Roxas said, delighted. "You made it! Great!"<p>

Roxas was standing in front of the gate of his house with Cloud and 6 security guards.

Sora quickly hopped off Leon's motor bike and walked towards his friend. Leon stepped off too, to say goodbye to his little brother. He didn't show it, but he was really happy for Sora. His first party, and such a great one at that.

"Wow!" Sora exclaimed. "You look great Rox!" he looked in amazement at his friend. He was wearing skinny black jeans and a great looking red polo. He was also wearing a necklace with a single fang of some predator. His hair seemed to shine like bright gold, his eyes looked even bluer than usual.

"Haha thanks Sora. Check out what Cloud's wearing."

Cloud looked normal enough at a quick glance. He was wearing pure white pants with great, expensive looking beige shoes. His shirt was white and fitted his muscular body perfectly, but on it in shiny golden letters stood the phrase: "Fuck me I'm famous." He was smiling broadly at Sora.

"Like the shirt? You look great yourself, Sora. Those jeans look like they were made for you."

Then he saw Leon, who was standing next to Sora, awkwardly eying the six bulky security people. He was wearing his standard leather attire. Cloud was rendered speechless. He stared at Leon with his mouth hanging open. Leon caught his gaze and looked back at him with a quizzical expression. There was an awkward silence before Roxas elbowed Cloud out of his daydreaming.

"Uhhhmm…" the blond man said uneasily, "you must be Sora's brother… I'm C-c-cloud. What can I do you for?" Roxas elbowed Cloud harder than ever.

"Err, I mean of course, what can I do for you? Would you like to come in for a drink?"

"No, I'm just dropping Sora off. I'm Leon. And that's a ridiculous T-shirt."

Cloud went redder than ever. He murmered something that was utterly unintelligible.

"Hi Leon, I'm Roxas. I'm sure Sora told you about me." Roxas said, shaking Leon's hand. He had never seen his brother act like this, around anybody. It would have been amusing if it wasn't so embarrassing… You would think Leon was the international sex symbol and celebrity…

"He did. It's nice to meet you in person. Well, I guess I'd better get going. Have a great time Sora."

This seemed to rouse Cloud for some reason.

"No!" he exclaimed. Everyone looked at him. He blushed once more.

"I mean… You're here now," he smiled almost apologetically. "So, I guess, you might as well stay for the party! I know you'll like it! There's lots of food, expert cocktail mixers, models who serve drinks…." His voice died away as he saw Leon's sceptical expression.

"Thanks for the offer, but I have to work an early shift tomorrow. It was nice meeting you though." Even Cloud didn't miss the obvious sarcasm in his voice.

"Oh well.. Okay then. But you have to come over and have a drink sometime!" There was an almost pleading note in his voice.

"We'll see. Bye." And Leon hopped onto his motorbike and was gone.

Cloud stared at the spot Leon had just left. Roxas looked at him in amazement.

"Well… that must have been some sort of record in awkwardness. Why didn't you just ask him to sleep with you? That strategy's worked out for you before."

Cloud didn't say anything but gave Roxas a look that could kill and ran off through the gate.

Sora could hardly believe what had just happened. Cloud had a crush on his brother? The world's best fighter, also a succesful model and general se symbol, had fallen for his brother, who worked 80 hours a week just so he could pay the bills? Sure, lots of people had fallen in love with his brother before, with his serious and stormy grey eyes, his tall and athletic stature and his long brown hair. In high school all the girls had whispered feverishly when he walked past, and on Valentine's day there were always tons of love letters sent to him, because he was not only good-lookin but also very mysterious… But Cloud, who could get anyone that he wanted, so utterly smitten by Leon? It was crazy.

Sora was vaguely aware of Roxas laughing. "I'm so sorry for Cloud… Let's just get inside. It's time to mentally prepare you for a party you are never going to forget."


	9. Chapter 9

A new chapter! First of all, Xacilia, Sorrow Chesire, TheDesillusionedDreamer, Selendis, Maya Tamika and Ortz: Thanks you for your reviews! You're all great. Okay, so this is the second part of the party. A lot will happen during this party, so I've divided it into three parts. Hope you like it, let me know ;)

* * *

><p>Chapter 8 – The party (part 2)<p>

"Okay…. So the first guests will be arriving in about half an hour, which gives us just the right amount of time to prepare you for the party." Roxas says in a serious voice.

Sora nodded, getting a little nervous. What excactly was there to prepare for? Wasn't a party just about having fun?

_Well, like you would know…_

"Most of the invited will of course be fashionably late, but there will be some close friends of Cloud who will be there early, like Zack and Demyx. Usually the bulk of the guests streams in around about eleven, and the party will probably go on all night… You'll stay the night right?"

The question was a casual one but it was a big relief for Sora. Now he could tell Leon he didn't have to pick him up and he could stay up as late as he wanted to.

"Yeah sure! I'd like that!"

Roxas' face brightened immediately but he rapidly continued.

"Okay great. So what you really need to know is that Cloud has a reputation of throwing the wildest parties. Most of these celebreties are just as promiscuous as Cloud himself, and I guess you know what that means…. Also there'll be lots of the best liquor and everyone will get drunk, which will of course loosen everyone up even more. The party will be all around the house and if you have to get into any of the bedrooms for some reason prepare yourself for exotic surprises. Many of the girls, all incredibly pretty, famous and succesful, are emotionally rather unstable… Or at least excentric. Don't be surprise if they announce their undying love for you or tell you how great you are for no apparent reason. It happens all the time." He explained at seeing Sora's increasingly puzzled expression.

"The thing you have to realize about these people," he continued in a calm but quietly humorous tone, "is that they have just about everything. They have lots of money, lots of fame and of course their either naturally or unnaturally appealing good looks. The only thing they actually lack in their daily life is privacy, but at this party even that is not a problem. Cloud made sure no stalkers and no paparazzi will be able to enter the house as soon as we moved in, and of course he tightened the security for this particular event. What you have to understand is that the only goal they have in life and expecially at this party is to have fun and live life to the fullest. If flirting with youngsters like you and me seems like fun to them, they do it. Don't make the mistake of mistaking any action they take for a serious advance." He concluded.

If it weren't for Cloud's mild but continuous flirting with him over the last two weeks, Sora would be unable to picture any celebrity even pretending to be interested in him. Now he considered it a vague possibility.

As Roxas continued to rant on about superficial things, all of which had to do with the party in some way, Sora's mind drifted off to the scene at the gate of the Strife residence. He couldn't help comparing Cloud's obvious crush on his brother with his own devotion to Riku, which had controlled his life for so long, and still did in a way. That feeling of inexplicable longing brought with it a sence of delicious doom he was all too familiar with. Sora knew Cloud was about to experience what he had experienced for years: obsession beyond reason. There would be dreaming, day and night, and long hours trying to think of a waterproof strategy that was utterly impossible to come up with. And jealousy, burning, intense and all-consuming jealousy..

* * *

><p><em>Why are these girls here? I keep asking myself as these two soulless harpies, ironically named Felicity and Joy, keep flirting with my bestfriend. Like helpless fans they cower before him. Riku stands in the shimmering sand of the crowded beach like some Greek god in his gorgeous short swimming trunks. Whether it is because of lower status than Riku as a male specimen or my obvious hostile attitude towards them, they pretend not to notice me at all. "Riiiikuuu" they squeal, taking turns to make the silliest attempts at conversation. Blergh. I can't help but notice the fact that they are actually rather pretty in a purely conventional and uninteresting way. Felicity with her long black mane and her emptily shiny blue eyes and Joy with her childish blonde pigtails and her vacuous hazel orbs. Both skinny, sun tanned creatures that probably spend every sunny summer weekend stalking this beachhunting for good-looking male prey. I'm not an aggressive person, but surely Riku would be thankful if I twisted their fragile little necks in a fit of rage… <em>

"_Riku….. let me oil up your back! I'd hate for you to get a sunburn!" screeches Joy suddenly, endlessly pleased with herself for coming up with such a clever idea. _

_For one wild instant I get the idea Felicity's about to slap her friend in the face, but then she cries, "Yes! And then I'll oil up your chest..." _

_I know Riku's going to say no to this not only because he's already fully oiled up, but also because he always does that with girls, to my immense satisfaction. _

"_No thanks," he replies, cruel but still likeable, "I think I'll go for a swim instead. Come on Sora, let's swim to our island." _

_Our island… That 'our' completely turns my mood around. It was indeed our island, a small but paradise like place where we had built many shacks and fought many sword fights over the years. Riku would bully away any other kids who had the guts to swim to that little sanctuary that we felt to be something made just for the two of us. _

_After his blessed rejection Riku walks off in his brilliant, proud way. His stride is entirely his own and tantalizing beyond measure. I've always wondered whether he practices on it or not. I take care to throw a look of savage pleasure at the horrified girls before I hasten to follow Riku._

* * *

><p>"Sora, are you even listening to me?"<p>

"Oh sorry, I just spaced out for a minute…"

Roxas seemed slightly offended.

"Let's go upstairs. The first guests will be here soon."

The two of them headed upstairs, where they found a group of breathtakingly beautiful men and women of around 18 standing in front of Cloud, who was talking to them in a weird, authorative voice that hardly suited him. _These must be the drink serving models. _All of them were dressed in similar outfits. Sleek black pants with shiny black shoes and a white dress shirt over which they wore a black vest. They all had a very trained figure. The girls were very skinny, but not in an unhealthy way.

" Okay, so remember. Just flirt with everyone and indulge whatever weird requests they come up with, just don't make out or have sex with anyone while you're still on duty. Understood?"

The models nodded.

"Alright then, go to your stations!"

And all of the gorgeous youngsters walked off in different directions. Cloud sighed and noticed Sora and Roxas standing there.

"Hey boys. The first guests will be here soon. What did you think of the models Sora? Pretty stylish huh? They'll be walking around offering people drinks and delicious treats all night."

"Yeah it's really cool!" Sora said enthousiastically.

"Haha I thought you would like it!" Cloud said with his old, flirty grin. "Well, I am going to stand at the gates to welcome the guests now, you can just chill here for a bit. Zack will be here soon so you can hang out with him if you want to."

There was something unnatural about the way Cloud mentioned his lover, something distant. He didn't talk about Zack with his usual enthousiasm.

"Okay see you Cloud." Roxas said, and Cloud was off.

As soon as he was gone Roxas turned towards Sora.

"Hey, let's go see Eric. He is one of the models, he is an amazing guy and he will be willing to provide us with alcohol!"

Sora was confused. He had never had a drink before in his life.

"Ehm, did Cloud not say we were not supposed to drink?"

"Aww come on Sora, you don't really think he is going to check up on us? He will probably be the first to be wasted, and he will hardly notice us drinking if we do it right in front of him. Come on, let's go."

And he dragged Sora off outside. Sora gasped as they went through the door. Cloud had had his backyard transformed into an amazing party place. There was an enourmous bar where several models were busy preparing for the party. There were dimmed lights everywhere, even the pool was lighted. A small stage had been erected opposite the pool, with a dance floor in front of it. Sora noticed the air was perfect for the party. It was pleasantly cool, not at all cold but not so warm that you would start sweating as soon as you started dancing.

"Wow look at your backyard! I hardly recognize it!" Sora exclaimed as they headed towards the bar.

"Yeah, everytime we throw a party Cloud has this team work on the backyard all day long. That stage is for Demyx of course, but also for the DJ."

Indeed, there was a DJ in a booth at the back of the stage, undoubtedly mixing up the light dancing music they were hearing.

When they were at the bar Roxas called over one of the models, who had been busy arranging bottles of liquor.  
>"Hey there Eric! It's great to see you again!"|<p>

The model looked up and walked towards the two of them.

"Hey Rox! Good to see you too. And who is your friend?"

Though not as angelic as Cloud, Eric was certainly one of the most attractive males Sora had ever seen. Wavy black hair contrasted magnificently with his bright blue eyes and light skin. He had pronounced cheekbones, a perfect nose and a masculine jaw. He was also, of course, in perfect shape.

"I'm Sora! Nice to meet you!" Sora squeaked. God, would he ever get used to being around gods like Cloud and Eric?

"Well met," Eric said, shaking Sora's hand, 'so Roxas, I think I might already know the reason you've deigned to come see me…"

"Are you going to serve us alcohol, Eric? You're the only guy cool enough to ask…"

Eric's expression brightened immediately at the cheap flattery.

"Haha you are still as charming as ever Rox. And I still don't see the point in your brother getting hammered while you're not even allowed one drink. You and your friend just come and see me. As long as you behave yourself I'll serve you anything you like.

"Thanks, Eric, you are the best." Roxas said with a weird, flirty wink.

"Hey you guys!" there was Zack, walking towards them.

"I thought I might find you boys here. Not up to anything your brother wouldn't approve of, are you Rox?"

"Oh Zack, you know I'd never. With such a great example of decency like Cloud, what kind of person could ever go astray?"

Zack laughed his loud, cheerful laugh. "Well, I know I am not going to judge you, though I think I know what you're up to young man. Hey Sora, did you bring your swimsuit? This is also a pool party, you know…"

Sora hadn't thought of that. "Oh no, I didn't bring one…"

"You can borrow mine," Roxas offered swiftly "I have like ten and we have the same size."

"Great, thanks Roxas!"

"Good for you!" Zack exclaimed, "you might be able to get into a steamy make-out session in the pool after all."

Sora blushed furiously. Whom would he be making out with, he wondered?

"Not everyone shares your idea of a party, Zackary Fair." Roxas said drily.

"Aww well. I think many of the guests tonight will disagree with you Rox. This pool will be full of horny celebs before midnight. I think I'll go back to Cloud now. He seemed awfully emo just a moment ago and I think I'll need to get him nice and drunk to get some action tonight. Talk to you losers later." And he sauntered off inside the house.

Sora and Roxas sat down on one of the couches that stood near the stage, talking exitedly about tthe party for a while. Then, before long, the first guests started to arrive. It was almost as if they had agreed to arrive at excactly that time, because they came in one after the other, sometimes in little groups. Roxas grabbed Sora's arm.

"Come on, there's some people I should introduce you to!"

He stalked off towards a group of four beautiful girls, all of whom Sora recognized. There was Aurora Daniels, a famous movie actress. She had won the Twilight Star for best actress, a feat that had ensured her long term success as an actress. Her hair was very long and shimmered like a hundred golden suns. She was chatting animatedly to Jasmine Beaumonde, a famous socialite and reality TV star. Jasmine came from a very wealthy family and she and her two sisters were all famous society darlings, always being on TV for seemingly no reason.

Then there was Cinderella Tremaine, a fashion model and famous style icon. She was especially famous for coming from a very poor family with nine brothers and sisters and travelling to the fashion capital of Radiant Garden with nothing but dreams and great natural beauty. There she was soon spotted on the street and offered a contract for a major fashion brand. She became more and more popular not only as a model but also as one of the world's most fashionable women.

But the girl Sora was the most excited about seeing was the one Cinderella was talking to: Ariel Rockwell. She was only eighteen but already very famous. In fact, she was one of Sora's favourite singers. Never had he expected to actually see her in real life. She was even more beautiful than in her video clips, with her slender, elegant frame, her bright blue eyes, her softly glowing skin and most of all her luscious, beautiful red hair. It was not the slutty shade of red like Kairi's hair was; it was bright and splendid, and made her look very special. She was wearing a lovely dress made of some shiny material that shimmered like the sea. And she was looking right at Sora, he was shocked to notice. Then her piercing gaze turned to Roxas.

'Hey there Roxas! I was wondering where Cloudy's cute little brother was hiding out.'

All of the ladies' eyes focused on Roxas, who didn't seem at all uncomfortable with the attention.

'Hey girls. You all look lovely tonight. Nice dress Ariel.'

Ariel smiled her dazzling smile. 'Thanks Roxas, you're such a sweetheart. And who's your handsome friend?'

_Oh gosh they're looking at me… _Sora knew his face must be the brightest shade of red. All of these powerful, famous and beautiful women looking at him… He had the horrible sensation he was about to faint.

"This is Sora. He's my best friend. Sora, these are Ariel, Cinderella, Jasmine and Aurora, though I think you might already know that."

"Nice to meet you." Said Jasmine, Aurora and Cinderella. Ariel though was looking at Sora as if she was judging him. "Hmm… You sure he's not a little bit more than just a friend Roxy?"

Now it was Roxas' turn to go red. He was stammering something unintelligible. Sora thought it was a ridiculous remark. Ariel smiled and said: "Just kidding Roxas. It's just that since you're Cloud's brother it's hard for me to imagine you having a friend who doesn't sleep in the same bed from time to time." All of the girls laughed now, and so did Sora. He was starting to like Ariel. In her interviews she was always funny enough, but Sora knew that could have been an act. But in person she was really a funny and nice person.

"So Ariel," he said, "are you gonna perform tonight?"

"Hmm, I think I might do one or two songs. I'd love to do a duet with Demyx if he's up for it. Which he probably is. Why do you ask, are you a fan?" she asked with a wink.

"Sort of. I really like your music."

"Do you believe that nasty rumor about me having had 10 plastic surgeries?"

"No of course not! That's crazy, I don't know why people actually believe that."

"Then I like you." She said with a winning smile.

Meanwhile, Cinderella, Jasmine and Aurora were gossiping about a tall and very muscular guy who was flexing his muscles in front of an almost anorexic girl in a pink dress. Sora vaguely recognized the man from a series of popular action movies. He remembered watching one of the movies with his brother who kept complaining about how fake the fighting scenes were.

Sora noticed Roxas had a vicious look in his eyes and when he followed his gaze he was surprised to see Axel talking to a pretty girl. Sora had some trouble placing her but he thought she might be one of the soap stars from Teenage Dreams, a series many girls at his school were addicted to.

"What's that idiot doing here? Cloud couldn't have invited him!" Roxas said.

"No idea, maybe he blew a hole in the wall or something." Sora said jokingly, but Roxas was looking far from amused.

"He can't be here. I'm going to kick him out personally." Roxas announced and sure enough, he fumingly walked of in Axel's direction.

"Wow remind me not to get on his bad side! I feel sorry for that poor kid he's going to kick out!"

Ariel exclaimed.

"Well, that's Roxas. When he gets like this it's bet not to disagree with him and to stay out of his way."

"Haha I only know him as Cloud's moody little brother. Hey Sora, why don't you and I get ourselves a nice cocktail?"

Sora didn't have time to reply, Ariel was already dragging him towards the bar.

"Hey there handsome! You look familiar? Did we fool around at Cloud's last party by any chance? That evening's a total blur to me." She said to Eric, furiously batting her long eyelashes.

"Nope, that's not possible. Cloud doesn't allow us to fool around, the hypocrite. Can I get you two anything?"

"Hmm can I get two Atlanticans please? On the rocks"

"Sure thing."

Sora was a little surprised Ariel had ordered for him, and he wondered what an Atlantican was.

Seeing his quizzical expression, Ariel explained "It's a cocktail. Don't worry. You'll like it."

"So…" she continued, "you and Roxas are already best friends? He and Cloudy just moved here."

"Well he was new at my school and we just started hanging out on his first day. We really just, you know, clicked I guess."

"You should feel lucky then. Cloud always complains about how picky Roxas is about his friends. He said he's always worried about Roxas being lonely, but that he doesn't know what to do about it since Roxas seems to like it on his own."

This didn't really surprise Sora. Of course he had noticed how critical Roxas was of the other kids at his school. "Everyone's so fake." He would say, "they spend so much time trying to be someone they think is cool that they don't notice how vacuous they are."

"Well, when I'm with Roxas it's just really easy, like we've known each other forever. I think Cloud's just more outgoing and Roxas is more solitary. It's weird how different brothers can be."

"It sure is. That's the way it is though. It's the same with me and my three sisters. I've spent my entire childhood thinking of strategies to torture them and to escape torture myself. I was the youngest so they pranked me almost every day. It's very weird, but I still liked my sisters though we were at each other's throats all the time. In the end, I think it has made me stronger. It was really tough starting out as a singer, but I kept thinking of my sisters' faces when they saw me on tv, singing in front of thousands. It was a weird motivation, but it worked for me."

Sora didn't know what to say, so he was thankful when Eric interrupted, bringing them the two Atlanticans.

He looked at the cocktail dubiously. It was an alarmingly bright blue, with lots of ice cubes in it. Ariel took a sip of hers immediately. "Come on, try it!" she encouraged him. "You'll like it."

Tentatively, Sora took a sip. It was surprisingly refreshing and sweet at the same time. It had a very special taste, but Sora found himself wanting more.

"Wow it's really good!"

"Haha I know right. It's my favourite cocktail. I've never met anyone who didn't like it. Hey Sora, let's play a game. I want to get to know you better…"

Sora wondered what she meant by that. "Sure, what game?"

Ariel's eyes flashed dangerously. "Truth or dare of course."

He could hardly supress a laugh. Truth or dare seemed like such a childish game to him, yet here he was being invited to a game by Ariel Rockwell, of all people.

"You first. Do you choose truth or dare, Sora?"

"Hmm… Truth I guess."

"Alright. Whom would you rather sleep with, Cloud or Roxas?"

What a question! It was an easy one for Sora though.

"Cloud." he said with an appropriate blush.

Ariel smiled. "Who wouldn't want a wild night with that man?"

"Okay it's your turn. Truth or dare, Ariel?"

"Dare. I'm fearless like that."

"Pff sure. You have to do it though, otherwise it's just stupid. Okay… Do you see Cloud dancing there by the pool?"

Ariel looked towards where Sora was pointing. There was a group of people dancing there to the upbeat dance song that was playing. Cloud was dancing wildly with Zack not far behind him.

"Yes, I see him."

"I dare you to pinch his butt."

She raised her eyebrows for a second, but then she quickly walked into the crowd of dancers. She danced around with people for a bit, slowly but surely sneaking towards her target, and then, Sora barely noticed it, her arm went down with surprising speed towards Cloud's behind and was up in the air within a second. She was two metres away before Cloud looked behind him in uncharacteristic fury. Cloud's eyes found only Zack standing there, dancing with a tanned girl.

He exploded in a fit of rage. Sora couldn't see what he was saying but he did see the people around him and Zack looking towards them in surprise. Ariel returned to her seat next to Sora at the bar. "How ninja am I?" But when she saw Cloud and Zack she was silent and just watched the scene. Both Cloud and Zack were clearly shouting now. More people started to notice them, and then Cloud snatched a glass of wine from a nearby table with surprising speed and threw it in Zacks face, storming into the house shortly afterwards. Sora and Ariel couldn't resist a laugh. "Priceless!" Ariel exclaimed, "oh, the consequences of a simple butt pinch. You're up again, by the way. Truth or dare?"

"Hmm… Truth again."

"Alright. I have a good one. Are you really so naive that you can't see Roxas is crazy for you?"


	10. Chapter 10

New Chapter! Woohoo! Thank you frostyfeline, Sorrowful Chesire, ortz, thedesillusioneddreamer, xacilla, selendis, emotionaldisaster666 (nice name btw!), thedragonwalks and kingdomheartsluvr505! Your reviews motivate and inspire me! Enjoy the next chapter!

Chapter 10 – The Party part 3

"Namine, would you HURRY UP?" Kairi was asked impatiently. She and Namine were standing outside the giant wall that surrounded the Strife mansion. Kairi was getting steamed: she could hear the music and could only imagine all the celebrities dancing and drinking on the other side of that wall.

"Kairi, you should be grateful that I'm even actually helping you with this." Namine replied in her usual serene voice. She was struggling to lift up an enormous ladder, and finally managed to lift it up with Kairi's help. It slammed against the wall with a dull thud.

"Finally!" Kairi exclaimed. "Okay Nam, now give me the rope please."

Shaking her pretty blonde head, Namine handed her the rope which had a triple hook at its end.

"Well, good luck to you. I hope you have a nice time."

"Are you sure you're not coming with me? You're never going to get the chance to be at a party like this again. You might even hook up with a hot celebrity. Don't you have a crush on Cloud Strife? It's his party, you could ask him for a tour of the house…. Those always and in the bed room, especially with him if the rumours are even remotely true…."

"Kairi, for the last time, I don't have a crush on Cloud Strife. I just said that he has a perfect body and that it's hard to imagine anyone more attractive. Just because I can appreciate fine male physique doesn't mean I'm drooling over him like you."

"Aww well. Hope you have a great night too, drawing or knitting or whatever. Bye Nam."

And with those words she started climbing the sturdy ladder. When she reached the top she heaved herself on the edge and fastened the rope. Then she waved goodbye to Namine and, holding the rope, carefully started her descent. Suddenly she realized how high up she actually was and she desperately wished Namine had brought a strong enough rope. It didn't break, however, and she safely reached the bottom.

Only then did she notice she wasn't at the party. It seemed to her like she was in a forest instead; there were bushes and trees all around her, most of them looking very excotic.

She suddenly felt very out of place in her turqoise cocktail dress. She started walking in the direction the music was coming from when she heard something moving in the bushes. Turning around, she saw something that froze her in her place. An enormous tiger, gigantic and terrifying, was eyeing her intensely. It was the kind of animal that was impressive even behind bars in the zoo she used to love going to as a child. But never had she noticed the exquisite way the giant cat moved, or the rippling muscles underneath its beautiful fur. The whole situation was very unreal to her. Just a minute ago she had been mentally preparing for the best party of her life. Now she was standing face to face with one of nature's deadliest predators. She wanted to scream but she found herself unable to do absolutely anything. She was standing very still. Then the tiger started walking circles around her. When she made even the slightest movement the beast snarled at her loudly. Kairi was quite sure she was going to die.

Sora really didn't know what to say. He could hardly believe Ariel just asked him that. Roxas liked him? As more than just a friend? What was she talking about? He tried to say something but he only managed to produce a few inarticulate sounds.

Ariel sighed. "I was afraid of this. It must be really hard to notice Roxas even has a sexuality with all the sex just oozing out of Cloud's pores. I really don't envy that boy's situation."

Sora had to agree. He had never even considered Roxas might like anyone; or thought of Roxas in any sexual way because of his gorgeous brother always stealing the spotlight.

"I mean, it's ridiculous if you think about it," Ariel continued, "like even at this party, where there's hot guys all around, if you would ask any girl which guy's the hottest they'd say Cloud. Maybe it's the whole fighting thing that adds to his sex appeal or something."

Then the music faded out, and everyone looked at the stage curiously.

"Oh it's starting!" Ariel exclaimed, grabbing Sora's hand and dragging him off towards the stage.

"What's starting?"

"Demyx' performance. This should be good, he's as good live as he is in his clips."

With a lot of pushing on Ariel's part and a lot of muttered apologies on Sora's, they won a place right in front of the still empty stage. Then Demyx walked on stage, casually holding his guitar. Sora was sort of suprised, having half been expecting a spectacular entrance with much smoke and many drum rolls. There was general cheering from the crowd. Sora found himself cheering as well. The whole thing was like a dream. He was standing right next to his favorite female performer, about to listen to a song by his favorite male performer. How had he ended up here again?

Demyx was looking very relaxed, with the same twinkle in his eyes that had won the heart of so many hopeless teenage girls. Sora could understand why he had been named Sexiest Man Alive. He wasn't as utterly perfect as Cloud, but those eyes and that smile had something that was uniquely appealing. Demyx was just vibrant and alive in every way, and even the way he moved showed it. Sora couldn't help but smile as Demyx was modestly smirking and scratching his head. "So…. I don't usually play at parties unless someone manages to get me exceptionally drunk, and people don't appreciate it anymore by then. But I've made an exception for our dear friend Cloud, I guess you can all understand why."

Chuckles and wolf whistling all around.

"Let's not waste any more of your precious time and get this party started!" Demyx cried, and the music blasted away. Everyone cheered, and as if a switch had been turned on, started dancing. Ariel grabbed Sora's hand and dragged him to the dance floor.

"Time to see you move, pretty boy!"

Demyx was great live. His voice was as seductive and arousing as it was when taped. Sora felt himself moving naturally, twirling Ariel around every know and then. He was moving very easily and Ariel was complimenting him on his dancing. It probably had something to do with the cocktails. Sora felt himself lost in a pleasant trance. There was the music, there was Ariel and there was the dance floor, and that was enough to make Sora perfectly happy.

The dancing continued for some more songs, but then Demyx switched to a slightly slower, more romantic song. And that's when Sora noticed Roxas standing there, just a few yards away, awkwardly eyeing him and Ariel. Sora thought about what Ariel had told him before and instantly felt weirdly guilty. If Roxas really liked him, it was a fact that at some point Sora would be confronted with it, and he had no idea how to react.

Ariel noticed Roxas as well, and grabbed Sora and shoved him in his direction. "Go dance with Roxy for a while, he deserves a good time too."

And that's how Sora felt himself in the awkward arms of his best friend, who was blushing so furiously that it seemed his head was about to burst. Sora knew he had to break the silence, so he said, as if it meant nothing at all, "so, you wanna dance?"

"S-sure!" Roxas said in a voice that wasn't his. And then they started dancing really awkwardly, not really shuffling but doing something that leaned towards it. Roxas, who was slightly taller than Sora, kept looking at some point over Sora's head, refusing to make eye contact. After the song the music stopped, and Roxas excused himself immidiately and disappeared into the crowd.

Sora sighed and looked around him. Most people were now standing close to each other and looking as if their make-out sessions had only stopped because the music had as well.

"Hope everyone's enjoying thenselves. It sure looks like it," came the chipper voice of Demyx.

"Now it's time for a few songs with a very good friend of mine, the one and only Ariel Rockwell!"

The crowd cheered as Ariel appeared on stage, holding her microphone, and Sora found himself cheering loudly as well.

"I'm pleased to announce that Ariel and I will be releasing a set of singles together, and you will be the first to hear them. This first song is called, "Because we're young." Enjoy."

Sora was happy to discover that this was another upbeat dance song, but unfortunately he now had no one to dance to it with. He went to the bar and had another drink from Eric, which he finished quickly. Then he went back to the dance floor, where he was instantly assaulted by a very drunk Cloud and Zack, who sandwiched him in between them. Both were wearing only their swimming shorts. Sora didn't know what was happening to him; he was shoved against Cloud's toned chest by Zack, who was grinding roughly into his behind. "How are you liking this party Sor? Do I know how to throw a party or what?" Cloud asked him, grinning rather stupidly. Sora felt utterly embarrased. He had never been in a more erotic situation. He could feel Zack's manhood pushing against his butt, and his own erection was grinding against Cloud's. Cloud started smiling, a deadly and gorgeous smile. "Ahh, is little Sora getting a little excited there? Does little Sora want some man on man action? Well, let's give little Sora what he wants, shall we Zack?

And to Sora's infinite horror and delight, Zack and Cloud started making out passionately over his head. He was almost squashed as they shuffled closer to each other. He couldn't help but look at them devour each other. It was utterly tantalizing. Sora thought he would have a heart attack as Cloud's hand went roughly through his hair. He didn't remember afterwards how long they had made out with him in the middle. It could easily have been an hour. But afterwards Cloud looked at him with that same lethal smile. "Getting a little hot there, aren't we Sor?"

Zack grinned behind Sora. "Maybe mr. Leonhart here needs to cool down a little after that?"

"Well my Fair prince Zack, I think you might be right."

And before he knew it, the two of them lifted him up and threw him into the pool.

The water wasn't cold at all, but it was very wet and Sora felt outraged.

He was vaguely aware of the couples making out around him. It was all very surrealistic. It was as if he was stuck inside some distorted sex dream. He swam towards the edge of the pool and hoisted himself out of it. Then he just stood there, confused and unable to figure out what to do. He really wanted to get out of his wet clothing, that was one thing he was sure of.

"Hey Sor!" cama a familiar voice Sora had trouble placing. Then Roxas appeared out of the swooning crowd of shuffling couples.

"Wow, what happened to you?"

"Zack and Cloud threw me in the pool!" Sora said, instantly regretting how whiny that sounded.

"Haha nice. Come with me, we need to get you out of these wet clothes."

The two of them then went back inside the house and entered Roxas' room, only to find a guy on the bed, fully clothed, on top of a girl who had her legs spread almost painfully wide, while a second girl sat on top of his butt and massaged his back.

"Aladin?" Roxas asked, sounding not at all surprised but half-amused and half-annoyed. The guy froze and sat up to face Roxas, throwing the girl off his back.

"Oops, sorry babe. Hey Rox. How's it hanging? Sorry I borrowed your room. Me and these two lovely ladies will just be on our way." He said apologetically.

And he left the room very swiftly, followed by the two girls who looked disappointed and not at all embarrrassed.

"Aladin always does that." Roxas explained, "he's a total player. One of Cloud's model friends. Cloud was stalking him for two months before concluding he had to be one hundred percent straight. They're pretty good friends now. Between the two of them, they've probably slept with everyone at this party." Sora grinned stupidly, and Roxas got him some dry clothes, then went to fix his hair in the bathroom while Sora changed.

After that they went back to the party, Sora feeling slightly less woozy now. They had barely left the house when they heard a drunken voice calling out to them. It was Axel, who looked completely wasted. "Hey there boys! Great party right? Rox, I really, really want to tell you someting." He staggered towards Roxas with his arms spread wide, he looked like he was about to hug the boy, who was eying him warily. Then Axel grabbed his stomach before puking all over Roxas: in his face and on his expensive looking shirt.

Roxas froze in his place, while the pink-blue contents of Axel's stomack dripped on the ground from him. Then he wiped some of the stuff out of his eyes and, with frightening speed and power, hit Axel square in the jaw. He then stormed off into the house, cursing all the way. Sora was left alone with Axel, who was lying on the floor, stirring feebly with his eyes half-opened.

Sora helped him to his feet, Axel's arm around his shoulder. He tried to ignore the stench as he led the redheaded man inside the house, where he laid him on the couch. Axel started snoring almost as soon as he hit the couch, so Sora laid a blanket on him and left him there.

Back at the party Sora noticed Demyx and Ariel weren't singing anymore, and that the DJ was playing again. It was a cool dance song Sora vaguely recognized. Suddenly he felt like dancing, so he joins the large crowd on the dance floor. As he looks around him, Sora realizes that it's just like the parties they show you at commercials for alcoholic drinks: everyone was good-looking and having a great time, dancing in the sexiest way imaginable. Sora moved as if he was one with the people around him, feeling positively mellow now. After a while of trancelike happiness, he felt two large hands on his hips, and hot breath in his neck.

"Hey handsome, wanna dance?" a husky voice whispered into his ear, and Sora instantly knew Cloud was standing behind him.

Sora closed his eyes and lost himself to the music and the sensation of his best friend's brother grinding up against him. Then Cloud roughly turns him around so that they are standing face to face.

"Sorry for tossing you into the pool earlier." Cloud said, with his charming, sheepish grin.

"That's okay." Sora was having a hard time focusing. Cloud was clearly very drunk, but in a weird way it made him even more irresistible. He wasn't his usual cheerful, clueless self; he was looking confident and even a little dangerous. And that's when Sora realized just how well Cloud was aware of the effect he had on people. He could see it in those bright blue eyes, that were piercing and knowing. It was in the way Cloud wetted his lips, making them mercilessly appetizing.

"You know, Zack and I had a fight just now. I told him to get out of here and never come back, and I don't even remember the reason… I don't think he'll be back this time."

Sora didn't know what to say to that, so he just kept quiet.

"It's just that I'm hopeless in relationships, Sora. I really am. Always have been. Probably always will be, too. And it's all because… well, I'm a stud muffin. "

That sounded really funny to Sora, who started laughing uncontrollably, until he noticed the way Cloud was looking at him; it was almost predatory.

"So.. would you like a bite?"

And without warning, Cloud leaned in and pressed his perfect lips on Sora's. Sora felt like he was about to faint. A thousand thoughts ran through is head, but then Cloud's hand was behind his head, pushing him deeper into the kiss. And all of those thoughts were then replaced with just one thought. "This is unbelievably great." Cloud's lips were dominating and impossibly soft at the same time, and they made Sora feel like he was flying. He felt something wet pushing against his lips and entering his mouth, and realized it was Cloud's tongue. Cloud started casually exploring Sora's mouth, brushing against Sora's tongue teasingly. A fight for dominance of the kiss ensued, with Sora losing almost immediately. All thoughts vanished from Sora's head as Cloud slowly made out with him.

Then Cloud went through Sora's hair with his hand and removed his tongue from Sora's mouth completely, before pushing back in again. He kept repeating this motion in a slow but forceful rythm, and Sora felt a dangerous tension building inside him. It was an odd but incredibly arousing sensation as he understood the implications of Cloud using this particular kissing technique. The tension inside his belly increased but Sora didn't want to stop the kiss. He let his hand wander over Cloud's bare, muscular back. Cloud used his own free hand to grab Sora's hand and placed it carefully on his perfectly sculpted behind.

That did it for Sora: all of the alarm bells in his head went off, but he knew it was too late. He lost all control over his body. He pulled out of the kiss as his muscles tensed uncontrollably, and a horrible, long moan excaped from his mouth, as Sora climaxed in his pants. He saw Cloud's eyes widen in surprise, and he did the first thing that came to his mind: he ran. Away from Cloud, away from the dancing celebrities, away from the party. He was not aware of where he was going, only aware that he had to get as far away from the party as possible.

Then he stumbled upon a tree root that was sticking out of the ground, and he fell flat on his face. He lay there for a while before standing up, his head feeling appropriately numb. That's when he noticed the fence that marked the edge of the enclosure Cloud had put Diva in for the duration of the party. He decided to enter and seek the tiger out. He had developed a genuine bond with Diva, and felt like petting her and just burying his head in her shiny fur. He entered the enclosure and walked around a corner of the house.

Then he saw Diva, circling a quivering mess he recognized as Riku's stuck up cheerleader girlfriend, Kairi. For a moment he considered calling: 'Diva, kill!' just to see what would happen, but he reconsidered. 'Diva! Come here girl.' The giant cat looked up happily and so did Kairi. She looked terribly frightened: she was still shaking quite violently and her dress was now half green thanks to the grass she had been lying on for god knows how long. Diva trotted towards Sora to let him pet her, and Sora called out to Kairi, "You can stand up. She won't hurt you." Slowly Kairi tried to stand up, but she seemed unable to and fell down almost instantly. Sora sighed, told Diva to stay and went to help her. He helped er stand up and together they left the enclosure, Kairi still having trouble walking. Sora was surprised to realize he actually felt sorry for the girl. He might have wished her dead over a hundred times, but she was such a mess right now that he just had to help her. He decided against asking her just what she was doing here, figuring she must have tried to sneak into the party somehow.

After he closed the fence Kairi threw himself into his arms and burst into tears. Sora held her awkwardly and patted her back. "Uhm.. there, there."

"Thank you," she sniffled, "I've never been more afraid in my entire life! You saved me! I'll never forget this!"

She began crying louder than ever after this, and Sora held her until she finally calmed down. "I would like to go home now please."

Feeling thankful for that, Sora escorted her to the front gates of the house. He asked if she would be okay from here, and she replied that she could walk home, she lived nearby. She hugged him one last time before walking off, still looking a little shaky.

Sora went back to the party where Ariel called him over to dance, offering him another cocktail. Hoping it would help him forget, Sora accepted the sweet drink. He complimented her on her performance. They danced and chatted for a while, and Ariel shouted, "You are a lot of fun Sora! We should have lunch sometime soon!"

They had a lot more cocktails, and the last thing Sora remembered was raising his glass and feeling perfectly happy before blacking out.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: New chapter! Thanks for all the favs and reviews, special thanks to Sorikuluvr for reviewing every chapter seperately... Now that's dedication haha ;) Enjoy, and let me know what you think!

Chapter 11 – The Aftermath

As Leon finished his breakfast he had a sudden urge to look up some info on Cloud Strife. He wasn't sure where the sudden curiosity came from; he was trying to convince himself it was because it was important to know something about the person at whose house Sora spent almost all of his free time.

But deep down he knew there was something else as well, something he was having trouble placing. As soon as he had seen him he had been suprised by his good looks. Sora had told him Cloud was the world struggle champion and was going to train him, and he thought Cloud looked more like a movie star than a fighter. And the way he acted… was utterly ridiculous. What can I do you for? What the hell?

Leon couldn't help but wonder why someone so rich and famous would behave like some kind of teenage girl, so he decided to check up on the blond stud.

After starting up his computer, an ugly, outdated but perfectly functional thing, he soon stumbled upon Cloud's MB page. MB is short for Merlin's Book which is an online encyclopedia everyone uses nowadays. Every minor celebrity has at least a short page on it, but Cloud's page was huge. It even had a summarized version, which was what Leon decided to read.

_Cloud Strife_

_Early life_

_Cloud Strife was born in the city of Midgar to Gaspard and Julia Strife. His father Gaspard owned a small shoe store, and his mother was a waitress. The family was just barely affluent enough to live on the upper plate of the chaotic city. Even at a young age, he excelled in strugge competitions; winning school, city and regional tournaments in the younger age classes. He became sort of a local hero and was celebrated for both his success as a struggle player as well as his good looks. When he was fourteen, both of his parents died in a tragic car accident. He was left alone with his younger brother, Roxas. The two were placed into foster care for a while, before settling in the house they had inherited from their parents. Many questions have been asked about how Strife managed to support himself and his brother while still keeping up his grades at school and still excelling at struggle. "It was an extremely chaotic time. I had a very busy life." _

_Struggle career_

_When Strife was eighteen years old he started competing in adult struggle competitions, winning tournament after tournament and enormous amounts of prize money. Two years later, he won the world championship, becoming the youngest ever world struggle champion. By then, he had moved to a luxorious loft in Midgar's famous Loveless district. _

_Before Strife struggle champions were indeed famous and celebrated worldwide, but Cloud Strife achieved a much greater degree of stardom after he was proclaimed Sexiest man alive by Hearts magazine, and he frequently appears on the covers of major magazines and at talkshows. _

_After becoming world champion Strife decided to stop competing in struggle tournaments, instead focusing on a career as a model. Because he was already famous he quickly achieved succes in this area, becoming the face of many major fashion houses such as Yevon and Kuja Vermont. _

_Personal life_

_Cloud Strife was one of the first male celebrities that was openly bisexual, and is wellknown for his sexual promiscuity. He seems to be a permanent bachelor, but has been spotted with many companions, mostly celebrities but sometimes unknown good-looking young men and women. _

_The tabloids love to write about his dynamic love life. _

_He is also known for throwing almost monthly parties which are infamous for the excessive amounts of drinking and sex, and are attended by almost every young celebrity and socialite. He always takes care to prevent papparazzi from infiltrating these parties, and it is every gossip journalist's dream to be able to document one. _

_Strife currently lives in a mansion in Twilight Town's wealthy Pradera District, with his younger brother Roxas. The former owner of this mansion was Demyx Moreland, and there have been many speculations about a possible relationship between the two celebrities. _

Leon barely had tiime to take in what he had read, because the doorbell ringed immediately after he had finished. He opened the door to find a delivery boy standing in front of his door. In his hand was a rather large pink package, which he promptly pushed into Leon's arms.

"Delivery for this adress, sir. Please remember Garnet delivery. Service with a smile 24/7, and deliveries within Twilight Town within one hour! Have a nice day!"

And with those words the boy briskly marched away, leaving Leon to stand there wondering who would send him chocolates. Then he saw the letter that was attached to the package, and saw it was adressed to Sora. Well that was a pleasant surprise…. Who would send his brother chocolates? He barely was able to refrain from opening the package, but instead returned to his computer to check his mail. However, he soon found himself looking up more and more info about a certain blond struggle champion….

* * *

><p>Where am I?<p>

It was all Sora could think as he awoke after the party. His head felt like it could explode any second now, and the dim light was almost blinding to his eyes. He felt truly terrible. Well, at least he was in a bed. A big bed… Sora turned his head to the side and gasped as he saw Roxas facing him, smiling peacefully in his sleep. His arm was draped across Sora's waist… Then, all of a sudden, fragmented memories of the party started assaulting Sora's already heavy head.

He remembered being impressed by all the celebrities, drinking cocktails with Ariel Rockwell, playing truth or dare, Ariel telling him Roxas liked him, being thrown into the pool, Axel puking all over Roxas, him carrying Axel off to the bed, dancing with Cloud, and…. Cloud kissing him! Actually kissing him! With tongue and everything!

_I've had my first kiss! And it was with Cloud Strife! _Sora thought triumphantly. And then he remembered what had happened after the kiss… And he almost died from embarrassment. There truly wasn't anything more humiliating he could possibly have done… How could he ever face Cloud again…? He sighed, then decided to focus on the current situation.. Wich was him lying in bed with his best friend like they'd spend a rather intimate night together, which Sora was pretty sure wasn't the case. He gently lifted Roxas' arm off his waist, and jumped out of the bed, sneaking into the bathroom. After a quick shower he put on some clothes and decided to leave the house and catch a tram as soon as possible. He knew he should probably thank Cloud for the great party and such, but he really didn't want to talk to the blond right now. He could only hope the host of the party had been so drunk that he was unable to remember the incident, but he knew that was probably a long shot…

Once he got upstairs, he quickly looked around to see if anyone was there, only to find Larxene emptying the dishwasher in the kitchen with her usual sullen expression on her face.

He darted off towards the front door, he was almost there, but….

"Well look who came early. Out of bed, that is."

Sora froze and turned towards the open door of Cloud's "office", which was more of a computer room with three giant computer screens perched upon a handsome mahogany desk.

Cloud was leaning casually against the doorpost, shirtless, wearing a pair of navy sweatpants that fitted him perfectly, smiling his perfect smile that had a cruel twist to it.

"How are you handling your first hangover Sor? Better than you handled your first kiss, I hope."

Ouch. That certainly stung. Was he referring to Sora's kissing technique or to what had happened after the kiss?

"Well, I don't have your experience with hangovers or kisses, and I don't think anyone does, so you really can't blame me Cloud."

"Hahaha touche. Well, you certainly seem eager to leave. Weren't you even going to thank me for throwing such an awesome party?"

And suddenly Cloud was a whole lot closer than Sora was comfortable with, whispering huskily into his ear: "Beause I know of a few ways you could really thank me properly…"

Sora felt the excitement rise within him and he knew he had to get away from there as fast as possible, so he mumbled something unintelligible and practically run out of the house.

"Don't forget, we're starting your training again next monday!" Cloud called after him.

* * *

><p>When he got home he felt twisted as to what to tell his brother. He was sure to ask him about the party, and Sora would have been excited about telling him he had his first kiss, but he was pretty sure Leon would disapprove of him kissing someone who was that much older than he was. He would most likely get really mad at Cloud and Sora could already see him driving over to Cloud's house to start a fight, and that was the last thing Sora wanted. So he decided not to tell his older brother.<p>

"Hey there Squall! Good… afternoon I guess."

"Sora. Something came for you in the mail. He handed Sora the pink box. His brother grabbed the box hesitantly. Sora also noticed Leon was very quick to slam his laptop shut. What was he up to?

"Who's it from?"

"No idea. That expensive delivery company Garnet brought it, so probably someone well-off. How was the party?"

"Yes, it was such a lot of fun! There were so many famous people, I can't even tell you. Demyx Moreland actually played, and I spent like two hours talking to Ariel Rockwell. She's so much fun, really cheerful and all. And –"

"You didn't drink anything did you?" his older brother asks, narrowing his stormy gray eyes.

"No, of course not! Just… water. And ehm, lemonade. Yeah."

"That's good. You look different somehow… Did something happen?"

"No, no, nothing happened… It's just, well I didn't get a lot of sleep, that might be it."

"Hmm, I don't think that's it…" Suddenly Leon's eyes widened. "Sora did you kiss someone at the party?"

How could his brother sense just what it was? It was almost as if he was a psychic…

"N-n-no that's not it at all! Of course it isn't, I-"

"That's alright Sora, no need to lie to me. I think it's actually a good thing, it's just a part of growing up you know.. So who was it?"

"No one! I told you!."

Leon sighed. "Fine, then don't tell me. Just let me know if things get serious."

And that was the end of the interrogation. Sora hurried into his small but cozy room, happy that that was over with. He settled on his bed and eagerly unpacked the mysterious package. It was a big box of expensive chocolates in the shape of seashells. Sora tried to think who could have sent him this. Could it be from Cloud? His heart almost skipped a beat at the tought. That would just make his was a letter attached to the box, which Sora opened.

_Dear Sora, _

_Thank you so much for what you did for me yesterday. I seriously thought I was going to die just then. These are my favourite chocolates, just something to show you how grateful I am. I want you to know that if you ever need anything, you can just come and talk to me. I know you and I haven't been the best of friends, and I really feel that could and should change! I will see you at school. Thanks again!_

_Xoxoxo Kairi_

* * *

><p>"Sora, we did it, we made the team!" Roxas almost tackled him as soon as he had entered school, a look of pure joy in his eyes. Sora briefly wondered what team he was referring to, but then he remembered the blitzball tryouts.<p>

"We did? Wow Rox, that's great! Who else did?"

"Ehm, Riku of course, Wakka and Tidus, Seifer unfortunately… Some guys I didn't know, Bickson, Graav and Shuyin are their names.. Oh and that idiot Axel."

Sora almost laughed at the grumpy look that came over Roxas' face as he spoke Axel's name, and he vividly remembered Axel throwing up over Roxas.

"What happened to him saturday morning? I laid him on the couch to rest after you practically beat him unconscious…"

"Oh, he must have snuck out in the morning, or Larxene most likely kicked him out. She hates guests, it means more cooking for her."

"Haha, I really feel sorry for him, he must be soooo embarrassed."

"Well, he should be." Roxas proclaimed, and they set of towards their class.

* * *

><p>At lunch, all everyone could talk about was the blitzball team: who had made it and who hadn't. A lot of boys were loudly proclaiming Cid incapable as a blitz coach, just because they hadn't made the team themselves. There were even some conspiracy theories going on about some people being blackmailed into the team.<p>

At Riku, Kairi, Namine, Axel and Seifer's table Hayner and Rai were just sitting there ashamed they hadn't made the team. Seifer was talking in a loud, obnoxious voice.

"Well, of course I knew that I was going to make the team. I mean, if I didn't make it, who else would? Seriously, the three of us were the only ones that were sure to make the team."

"Conceited." Namine commented, without even looking up from her drawing.

"What really bugs me though is that those two losers made the team," Seifer continued, ignoring Namine's comment, "I mean, they are really going to bring down the team, I just know they are."

"Sora and Roxas? They actually did really good during the tryouts, I'm pretty sure they'll be our defenders. Are you sure you're not still mad about Sora totally owning you during the tackling round?"

"Get out of here Axel! That squirt didn't own me, I was just… distracted by something."

"Yeah right."

"Can you boys talk about anything other than blitzball?" Kairi interrupted, "I mean, seriously, you made the team, just be happy about that. What's a lot more interesting…. Axel, how was Cloud Strife's party?"

"Best. Party. Ever. Seriously, no one but models, actors and singers. I've seen everyone famous in their twenties, it was crazy. Demyx Moreland and Ariel Rockwell performed, everyone got down, I made out with this hot anorexic soap actress… The booze was great, reaallly expensive and nice. That Strife guy has to be totally loaded to throw a party like that."

"Didn't you try to sneak in or something?" Riku asked Kairi, and she went very red and changed the subject.

Sora and Roxas had been talking only about the blitzball team during lunchtime, and time seemed to fly by. The bell rung and they headed off towards their next class, only to be interrupted by Axel.

"Uhm, Roxas, can I just talk to you for a second?"

"And get puked on again? No thanks, one time was enough for me."

"I'm really sorry about that. I mean it. It's just, the drinks were so great and I had never been so wasted… I really lost control and I'm sorry. But I'd like to make it up to you."

Roxas narrowed his bright blue eyes. "How?"

Axel's eyes started shining dangerously. "I'll take you out for diner sometime."  
>Sora was suprised to see Roxas start blushing. "Not interested." He said, and he promptly walked away, Sora following him while grinning.<p>

"I don't give up that easy!" Axel called after them. "We'll have that diner, you and I. Got it memorized?"

* * *

><p>Cloud's training was just as tough as it always was, but it was a whole lot worse because of all the lewd jokes Cloud was constantly making at Sora's expense. He just kept a stream of sexual innuendo going for the entirity of the training session, and Sora was getting pretty sick of it.<p>

He was only halfway through the workout, and Cloud was ordering him to do some push ups.

They were working on Sora's bulk, trying to make him less scrawny.

As Sora got down into position Cloud felt the need to place yet another embarrassing comment:

"You know, I would join you for the excercise, but I really think it wouldn't do you much good to see me panting and sweating… we wouldn't want any more little accidents to occur, would we?"

He had that annoying grin on his face that clearly showed he thought he had said something terribly clever, and Sora felt the urge to punch him. He thought better of it though, and he continued working his butt off.

After the excercise they did some weight lifting and they ended the session with some swimming, after which Sora dragged himself out of the pool, utterly exhausted.

"Well, you did very well today Sora. Seems you have more endurance during excercise than at… other times."

Sora was too tired to be mad at Cloud for reminding him of what was possibly the most embarrassing moment of his life.

"So how about you take a quick shower and I'll see you at diner? Unless you want me to join you, that is."

Sora looked up in amazement to see if Cloud was serious, but the blond stud just winked and walked off upstairs. Shaking his head, Sora somehow managed to get himself into the shower, and he turned up the heat to a scalding temperature and forgot all about his troubles.

At diner, Cloud had a very special surprise for Sora and Roxas.

"Well, I think it's just so great that both of you made your school's blitzball team. Sports are great of course, just don't drop the soap during showers…"

An awkward silence ensued, during which Sora and Roxas tried not to burst out laughing.

"Okay, so I think some sort of reward is in order, and since you have your school break coming up, I've decided to treat you to a nice, sunny trip. Which is why we're gonna spend your break in Costa Del Sol! I have to be there for a shoot anyways, and I've already booked a hotel with great suites for the four of us!"

"Uhm, the four of us? There's only three of us right?" Sora asked.

"Oh no Sora, your brother's coming too."


	12. Chapter 12

New Chapter! Thanks for all the reviews, faves and alerts! I'm already working on the next chapter, it's going to be a big one... Enjoy ;)

Chapter 12 – The Still before the Storm

Sora had never been on vacation since his parents had died. Leon had always said they couldn't afford it, and Sora had always believed him. Now that he was finally going on vacation with his best friend's family, he wanted his brother to be a part of it. He certainly deserved it working 80 hours a week at his underpaying security job.

Naturally, his brother rebelled against anything that was completely leisurely and served no other purpose than fun and relaxation. Moreover, he seemed to have taken a dislike to Cloud, something Sora was beginning to actually understand since the party. His training sessions with Cloud were getting more and more awkward. It was hard to take your trainer seriously when he kept on insisting the best way to end any workout was with a "quickie in the poolhouse".

This did not mean Leon had any reason not to go on vacation. But he was just so damn stubborn once he had made up his mind….

"Leon come on. It's Costa Del Sol. We might never go there if we don't go now. We might never go on vacation at all!"

"I don't care. And anyway, it's not even possible for me to go, so just forget about it."

"Why is it not possible for you to go?"

"I can't miss a week of work Sora. I just can't."

"You're impossible! Don't you realize you're allowed to have fun from time to time! Don't you think I can see how tired you get from working all the time? A vacation is just what you need, just listen to me."

"Sora, I'm happy for you that you can go on vacation with your friend, so just go by yourself! I'm staying here in any case, and that's final."

"You are unbelievable."

Sora stormed off into his room and fell down on the bed, exhausted from what felt like hours of failed haggling. Why would say someone say no to any kind of fun at all? It just didn't make any sense…

His phone rang. He picked it up, expecting to hear Roxas' voice.

"Hello?"

"What are you wearing baby?" a husky voice asked him.

What the…? "Who is this?"

"Just Cloud, so relax. Anyways, how's it going with your brother? Is he still not coming?"

"Nope, and nothing I say or do will probably convince him otherwise."

"Hmmm… Put him on the phone."

"What?"

"Put. Him. On. The. Phone."

"Ehm, why?"

Cloud sighed dramatically. "So I can persuade him to come with us, of course."

"That will be the last thing that's going to work, but all right.."

"Oh it will work alright. I can be _very _persuasive….

Sora rolled his eyes as he walked into the living room, where Leon looked up at him with one of his "what now?" looks. Sora glared back at him and pushed the phone into his brother's hands.

"Cloud for you."

He would have loved to listen in but he knew that would annoy his brother, and that was the last thing he needed to do right now. So he just went back into his room to work on his homework. Lots of homework too, the teachers were obviously trying to get as much work done as possible before the break.

He really hoped Cloud would be able to get his brother to come along, but he really doubted it. Even though Leon kept denying it, he needed this break. And it was at Costa Del Sol! The legendary port town, known for its clubs, yacht harbors, and great surfing spots. All the rich went there. It was said a drink was four times as expensive there as it was anywhere else, and that you had to pay to even get into one of the clubs. All kinds of celebrities and rich people went there to celebrate their succesful lives. Sora would have loved just to see it, let alone be a part of it.

After about half an hour Sora figured Cloud's attempt had failed and that the conversation had ended, but then Leon came into his room and handed him back the phone without a word.

"And?"

"It's done!" Cloud said in a voice that was chipper even for him.

"Done? What do you mean done?"

"Well, not done like you were after one kiss, but done as in, he's coming along!"

"What? Are you serious?"

"Of course! Why are you so surprised, did you ever doubt my persuasive skills?"

_Uh, yeah_. "No of course not."

"Okaay so we're leaving this friday night, make sure you bring some summer clothes because it'll be _hot _in Costa Del Sol."

"Okay!"

"Ok, I'll see you tomorrow for your training! Bye!"

And Cloud had hung up, leaving Sora to wonder how he had managed to get his brother to go on an actual vacation.

* * *

><p>As usual, Riku quickly got tired of making out with Kairi. She was certainly nice to look at, and he didn't mind kissing her, but the utter emptiness of her character and her never ending lust for him were really starting to bother him, even more than they already used to.<p>

Like right now: she was positively assaulting him, lying on top of him and pinning him to his bed. She seemed to live for these make-out sessions, trying to stretch them out as long as possible, up the point where he had to shove her off him.

"Say my name, Riku."

He grumbled something unintelligible, but that of course did not satisfy her in the least.

"I said _say my name_." She whispered, more urgently.

"Kairi." He muttered. Did that really actually excite her? Or was she just so far gone that she couldn't remember her own name?

"There's a good boy. I love you."

This was the absolute worst. She kept saying I love you a hundred times a day, sometimes in a sweet voice, sometimes in an almost aggressive voice, but the goal was always the same. He would never tell her he loved her too. He had promised himself that. Otherwise he knew she would inevitably start talking about marriage, maybe even kids. He knew her all too well.

"I… like you too."

"I think you deserve a special treat today…."

Here we go again… It was almost a routine now. Her hand, that had been stroking his chest for a long, long time slid down, raking across his abs, trying to find its evil way down into his pants. He knew the game by now. He grabbed her hand and held it; she always forgot about her horrible plans when he did that.

Not this time, though. She jerked her hand free and attacked his his belt; it was like she wanted to just rip it apart. Riku felt a surge of disgust so strong that he pushed her away with all of his considerable strength, sending her flying off the bed and onto the hard mahogany floor.

He hadn't meant to hurt her like that, and he already felt sorry, but she was up in just one second and started hitting him and screaming at him like she was possessed.

"What the hell is your problem! All the boys at school would kill to sleep with me, and you don't even let me as much as touch you below the belt!"

To his horror he saw tears in her eyes, and her face was all red. She had never looked worse than she did now, and all he could feel for her was pity. Pity for being the vacuous diva that she was.

"Kairi, you need to calm –"

"Don't you tell me to calm down! How am I supposed to be calm! You are my boyfriend! You're supposed to have the hots for me and try to get in my pants all the time! When Namine was dating that Shuyin guy she kept complaining about how he was constantly trying to lure her into his bed! She asked if I had the same problem! What was I supposed to say? Maybe: 'No, actually it's the other way around with us, it's me trying to get into Riku's pants and him being annoyed.' It's so frustrating! Why don't you like me? Don't you think I'm pretty?"

"Well, not right now." It was out before he knew it. He really meant it though; she looked like a banshee at the moment, with her make-up streaming down her face.

Clearly, it was the wrong thing to say. She started sobbing even louder and then she started hitting him on his head.

"You're ridiculous. Oh I know how it is… You don't like me because you are GAY! My friends told me to be careful about dating you because you used to have something going on with this Sora kid!"

Now he was really getting pissed off. She didn't know anything about him and Sora. Why did it still hurt so much when people mentioned him?

"Shut up."

"It's true isn't it?" She took a step back from him now, trying to look at him with disgust and be superior. But all he saw was a pathetic mess.

"You always act weird whenever people mention Sora, and when Seifer talks about how he bullies him you turn away and look really hurt, don't think I don't see it! You are gay Riku, you are gay for Sora! That is why you don't like me, you don't even like girls!"

That is it, Riku thought. Who does she thinks she is, anyway?

"Kairi, you are pathetic. You conclude that just because I am not attracted to you I have to be gay, because any straight guy would be unable to resist you. Let me tell you something. I am not attracted to you because you have no personality. You are a vacuous trainwreck whose happiness is based purely on what other people think of you. And I pity you for that."

Her mouth opened, then closed again. An awkward silence ensued, during which Kairi was trying to find the right words to say.

"But… why? If you think I am a… a vacuous trainwreck, why did you ever start dating me in the first place?"

He almost told her about his dad pressuring him into getting a girlfriend, but he restrained himself. Instead he said: "Why do you think? The only reason any guy would date you is because you're a status symbol. You are the head cheerleader, and all that you are worth is based on that. Don't ever try to tell yourself otherwise."

She wasn't crying in anger anymore. Instead she got a really hurt look in her eyes, a hurt that would perhaps have made any other guy feel guilty, but Riku actually relished it at that moment. God, it had been a long time since he had really actually hurt someone, and he had to say, it felt really good. Even as a boy, he had always enjoyed making other boys cry, by calling them out on their weaknesses. He had always thought the other kids petty in their own pathetic little ways, all except for Sora… Sora was an exception, he was sweet and pure and Riku had felt protective of him from the moment he met him. And at that moment, with Kairi standing in front of him with huge, sad eyes, he realized he wasn't happy with his life. He wanted to get Sora back, and to stop living the life his father wished for him.

"Riku, I…"

"Get. Out." He said, and Kairi went.

* * *

><p>"Tell me you are joking. <em>Please<em> tell me you are joking."

"I am not. Stop acting like it's so ridiculous to have a small wardrobe!"

"Five shirts and two pairs of jeans? That's not a small wardrobe anymore, that's no wardrobe."

"Roxas, okay, I admit it, I only have a few clothes, but Leon has other priorities."

_Like food. _

"Okay Sora, that is about to change. Right now. Your brother might have other priorities, but I certainly don't. After school, we are snatching Cloud's creditcard and we are going to the Sunset Mall."

"The Sunset Mall? Roxas, everything there is way overpriced! I won't be able to buy anything!"

Roxas grinned devilishly in a way that made him look like a Cloud copy, though only for a second.

"That's the beauty of it, Sora. Cloud's paying."

And the rest of that lunch, all Roxas could talk about was his favourite brands. Sora had never noticed it before, but his friend turned out to be a bit of a fashion freak. He seemed to know every designer that was hip and happening right now.

"So there's Baralai who's kind of the leading man of Yevon, which is of course one of the most popular brands worldwide. Cloud models for him a lot and they have a very peculiar relationship… He's a great guy, Baralai, really quiet and deep, very smart and quite handsome too… Yevon is sort of a fancy brand, very expensive suits for men and the most beautiful evening gowns for women. Kuja Vermont is very different, he's rather excentric and his label reflects that: very expensive haute couture; almost artful clothing… Then there's SOLDIER, of which Cloud is the spokesmodel; that might be a brand that's good for you: very masculine cool clothing that can also be kind of casual but really looks good in any situation.."

And he kept going on like this. After a while Sora started to get a little tired of all the designers and fashion houses: Roxas just kept going on and on, not just about the clothing but also about their private lives and how many time Cloud had worked for them…

Sora started to look around the cafeteria for anything that might distract him from Roxas' fashion monologue, and he noticed Riku and Axel were sharing a table while Kairi, Namine and Seifer's gang sat at their usual table. Namine and Kairi were looking at Riku in the most obvious way possible and talking feverishly. _Weird_… Sora thought. Was there a fight going on or something? Trouble in paradise, it seemed. Could it be…? No, Riku would never break up with his perfect cheerleader girlfriend, Sora was quite sure of that. Still, it would be pretty damn satisfying if he ever did….

* * *

><p>"Roxas I really don't feel comfortable spending all of Cloud's money like this!" Sora squealed as he tried desperately to hold onto all the bags. He and Roxas had been walking around the Sunset Mall for hours now, and Roxas seemed determined to raid every single store… Sora was basically just hungry, though he couldn't help but feel excited about all the clothing they'd bought. He grunted in frustration as he felt a bag full of Mogshop clothing slipping from his grasp.<p>

Roxas rolled his eyes. "Sora, you ought to know better than this. We could spend a year shopping here and we wouldn't be able to spend all of Cloud's money. Plus, he gets a 60% discount at all of the brands he's ever modeled for, so these clothes aren't as expensive as they'd normally be."

The Sunset Mall was a beautiful place. It was huge, and not only contained a great deal of stores, but also many restaurants, all of them sporting beautiful terraces that allowed you to enjoy the famous Twilight sunsets. In the middle of the Mall was a giant fountain under a roof of colorful stained glass, and it was there Sora and Roxas were standing right now.

As they were shopping Sora noticed for the first time that Roxas had some seriously gay character traits. He marched into the store like a diva, picked out some clothing sets that he liked ("Remember Sora, rule #4: never buy seperate clothing items. You will want to buy sets, so you know what goes with what. You can always mix and match later on.", and then he ordered Sora to try them on at once. Sora had zero input about what clothes to pick, but he really didn't mind. Roxas' taste in clothing was no less than excellent. He managed to combine just the right shorts with just the right singlet to create a look that was really quite dashing.

"Okay Sora… I think we're almost done.. Let's just go to SOLDIER one more time."

As they walked into the store the girl that had helped them before smiled at them. She was a pretty blonde, a little too skinny but all smiles, with bright green eyes. "Back already? Can I ask the names of such faithful customers?"

"This is Sora and I'm Roxas."

"Wait a minute… Your eyes.. Your hair… Are you Roxas Strife, Cloud Strife's younger brother..?"

Roxas sighed. He always did that when people recognized him, though it really didn't happen that often. "Yes, that's me. The little brother. I presume you want my brother's autograph?"

The girl blushed. Gods, Sora thought, Roxas can be so rude sometimes.

"No, no of course not… It's just that I feel so embarrassed for charging you for your purchases! I mean, Cloud Strife is SOLDIER's spokesmodel! Pick whatever you like!"

Sora really didn't feel comfortable taking free clothes from a store, but Roxas didn't seem to be bothered by it in the least. He just thanked the girl and proceeded to pick out half of the inventory, while Sora wondered how they were ever going to carry all of the bags…

After the girl had helped them bag up all of the clothes, she asked hesitantly: "Uhm… I don't mean to pry or anything, but does Larxene still work for your brother?"

Roxas looked up at her, clearly annoyed.

The girl went red. "I'm sorry, it's just that… she's my sister you see. And I haven't really talked to her lately. My name's Arlene, by the way."

Larxene had a sister? It was hard to imagine the sulking blond maid that prowled Roxas' house like a lioness had any family at all… "She does actually. She wouldn't if it were for me though, it's just that Cloud has a hard time firing people."

"Oh okay.. But… There haven't been any… incidents, have there?"

"Incidents? What do you mean?"

"Oh I'm sorry, it was stupid of me to ask. You probably want to be on your way!"

And she smiled them out of the store.

As they stood outside the store Sora couldn't help but wonder why Arlene had behaved so strangely. He asked Roxas but his friend just shrugged. "Who cares? Let's just go home. You'll want to get some sleep, it's a long flight tomorrow to Costa Del Sol."

And after that Sora could only think about the next day, and what would be his first vacation in a really long time. One thing he knew for sure: the combination of his serious brother, a lovestruck Cloud and his best friend who might have a crush on him would make for an interesting time…


	13. Interlude: Life of Strife

Hello readers! First of all I am extremely sorry for the late upload. I know there is no excuse for that, but I just entered college and found myself not having time for anything. However, I am pleased to announce that Revenge of the Squirt is not abandoned!

Enjoy this chapter! It is an interlude that will supply some background on two of your favorite characters... enjoy ;)

Reviews are loved. So are reviewers!

* * *

><p>Interlude – Life of Strife<p>

Julia Flemmington was the kind of girl all other girls wanted to be and all the guys wanted to do. With long, blonde, wavy hair, eyes that were bluer than heaven and legs up to _here_, she was both the most popular and the most hated girl at Midgar High. Her appearance was very fortunate for her, because at the age of 12 she was diagnosed with a very rare form of genetic hypersexuality that made her crave for sex literally all day long. Her parents, who were very traditional and very aristocratic, were shocked to hear this and tried desperately to 'cure' her. Nothing worked. No doctor could help her, every psychotherapy was to no avail and medicine was not an option for her illness. When she first entered high school she tried desperately to keep her condition a secret; but it was in vain.

Very soon she had slept with almost all mildly attractive boys at the school, and her reputation was the worst imaginable. Though many girls might have been jealous of her sexual exploits, the fact was that she had almost no control whatsoever over her behaviour, and that while everyone who knew her, excluding her, assumed it was due to her being naturally promiscuous it was actually due to what was in every way a psychological disease. Moreover, it was a disease that caused her great suffering: Julia spent many nights crying over the things other people said about her. It made her feel worthless on the inside, and almost like a prostitute.

Meanwhile, her relationship with her parents grew more and more strenuous as they kept hearing stories from various sources about their daughter's fondness of the opposite sex. They had resigned to the fact that their daughter had a hormonal disease, but could she not at least try to inhibit those… urges? For the family's sake? After a particularly heated talk Julia decided never to open up to her parents again. This was the reason that one night, when she was feeling rather tipsy and about to do what her body told her to do with a boy who seemed sweet and understanding to her at that moment, she told him about her disease. After her confession, which for her felt deeply emotional, the boy in question simply said, 'I love you', and kissed her roughly on the mouth. She never tried talking about her illness to any boy after that.

Except for Gaspard Strife, who to Julia was a very special boy. He was special for a number of reasons: first of all he was a very good sports player. Soccer was, aside from struggle, the number one sport in Midgar and as captain of the soccer team Gaspard had a social status that was, even on its own, very erotic to Julia. His reputation was also rather appealing: he was known as a man of very few words and also as a total player. His bright green eyes, straw blond hair, toned body and position as the school's alpha male meant that girls were more than willing to give themselves to him for one wild night. He was never in a relationship and was never with the same girl twice in a row.

In him Julia saw a sort of male alter-ego, and she promised herself that this boy would be more than just a fling, more than a one-night stand. She assumed he would approach her eventually; he was always staring at her from across the cafeteria with those unsettling green eyes of his.

"Wow, look at the way he's always just staring at you!" her best friend Margie exclaimed. Julia liked Margie because she was one of the only girls who didn't judge her. Margie knew what it was like to be excluded: she had her own problems with her severe obesity.

"He wants you. Did he approach you yet?"

"Not yet," Julia answered, "but he will."

Except Gaspard did not. So during their senior year, when Julia realized time was running out, she took matters into her own hands and asked him out. She had never asked a guy 'out' before; it was either the other way around or her asking a guy 'in', so to speak. With a wicked smirk, Gaspard accepted. During their date at a small but cosy local cafe it turned out Gaspard and Julia had much more in common than their sexual appetite; including an enormous disgust for the people at her high school. At first they bonded mostly by expressing their hate for a great number of people they both knew and despised. They talked for hours straight and much to her own surprise, Julia found herself telling Gaspard about her condition.

"Well," Gaspard said, "it seems you have a lot in common with just about every guy then."

They laughed about that and other things, and Julia noticed something changing in herself. She wanted more of this attractive soccer player than his body. He accepted her as she was, and this was more than could be said about even her family.

They were inseparable from then on. Gaspard came from a rather poor family, with both his parents working all day long. After school they would go to his house where they would spend their time making love and just talking to each other. Gaspard told Julia she should be a model or an actress. It took a great deal of convincing from his part but eventually she auditioned for a small modelling agency and went on to become that agency's greatest source of income, after which other agencies started asking her. This allowed her to say goodbye to her horrified parents right after graduation and to buy a small apartment for her and Gaspard.

After moving in together they both started working; neither of them had enough money for college. Gaspard found a job at a small shoe store, convinced it would only be temporary. They were well-off for a while because of Julia's work as a model, spending their extra income on the cinema and the local theatre, as well as romantic diners. This changed, however, when they decided to have a baby.

Cloud meant the end of Julia's modelling career. She was in love with him from the moment she saw him and spent all her time with him; they were fine on Gaspard's income since the owner of the shoe store had passed away and had decided to leave his store to his handsome, capable and loyal employee rather than his alcoholic, chronically tired wife. Also she found herself unable to return to her modelling weight after giving birth, unlike some of her colleagues. But what did it matter when she had the most beautiful baby in the world to take care of?

Her and Cloud had many similarities. Cloud too was very talkative and extravert. He would boss other boys around even at kindergarten, and always seemed to be surrounded by a band of followers. She remembered her parents telling similar stories about herself at that age, in that annoying nostalgic way of theirs.

The arrival of Roxas changed their lives all over again. The hardest thing for Julia was dealing with her condition with two kids in the house: it was very hard to find a time to do it when your husband was working all day and there were two boys in the house all the time, one of which was very loud and always seeking attention and bringing over friends. Her relationship suffered because of this, and it made her very edgy at times.

Roxas grew up to be more like his father: quiet but strong, and witty when he made the effort to talk to you. Julia noticed a change in Cloud after his little brother was born. He clearly didn't like sharing the attention, even though Roxas was a much easier child and demanded far less attention than his older brother had at the time. Julia had trouble determining the bond between her two sons. In public Cloud was perfectly nice as a brother, but Julia often noticed him yelling at Roxas when he thought she could not hear him, or pushing him over when he thought her inattentive. Also, she couldn't count the times when she would clean Cloud's room and find some toys she had bought for Roxas. It always amazed her how Roxas would never tell on his brother picking on him; she always had to find out on her own.

Her concerns for her eldest son's behaviour reached a peak when he was ten years old, and she received a call asking her to come to the principle's office immediately. Cloud had broken an older boys nose, apparently because the boy had said Cloud's hair made him look like a chocobo. She was also informed of smaller incidents, including her son making a classmate cry by twisting his arm for saying Cloud was dumb and tying another boy to a tree with a group of friends.

After being excluded by most of the girls in her high school Julia couldn't stand the idea of her son being a bully, and brooded on a way to change his behaviour. Eventually, she decided Cloud needed a proper outlet for his aggression and she put him on an intensive struggle program at a local dojo.

It was an instant success. Within just a few months Cloud won a small local tournament, and after negotiating with his trainer she managed to get him enrolled in a bigger and better program that was run by the city's struggle association.

Seeing her son succeed became Julia's new obsession. She went to see every single one of his tournaments, often taking Roxas with her for practical reasons. He almost always won first place, and if he didn't he was at least second or third. For Julia, it was like experiencing success she herself had never known: her son was the best at something and that fascinated her almost beyond reason. Gaspard's careful remarks about her spending too much attention on one son and ignoring the other went one ear in and out the other. Yes, yes, she loved Roxas too, but it was not him whose room was overflowing with medals and cups now, was it?

On Friday nights Julia and Gaspard still went to the theatre once every two weeks, and it was for those occasions that Julia hired a babysitter for Roxas and Cloud, a sweet and reliable 16-year old called Xion. The boys liked her a lot: she could put up a good match of chess against Roxas and she could help Cloud with his homework. However, Julia saw herself forced to fire her when one night after seeing a bad play she and Gaspard came home to find Xion and twelve year old Cloud intertwined on the Couch, with her sons hand massaging her small breasts and their lips apparently glued together. The next day she paid a visit to the doctor who confirmed her suspicion that her son had inherited her unfortunate disease. She had never been gladder for the fact that Cloud was a boy and looked as good as he did. She then had a long talk with her son about safe sex and girls' feelings, frightening him with stories of boys who were a daddy by the time they were fifteen and who had to start working at a factory to provide for their child. It seemed to her to be effective, because her fears of becoming a grandma were never realized, although she regularly had to console some sobbing girl who called her home phone or showed up on her doorstep because Cloud was ignoring her calls.

Cloud went on to win at struggle, drawing the attention of a number of scouts who worked from some of the world's best trainers. Roxas in the meanwhile proved to be very intelligent and a talented chess player, winning some tournaments of his own and making his father, who had taught him, a very proud man. And for a while, the Strife family was happy.

This happiness ended abruptly when Gaspard was diagnosed with a brain tumour. The treatment of his disease, the fact that he could work less and the cost of Cloud's struggle training put the family in a bit of a financial crisis. Julia saw herself forced to work as a waitress at a local bar, which she found very humiliating and stressful. The job also lacked all the glamour that was associated with working as a model, and her salary was much, much less. After various treatments failed to cure her husband's condition, the family was informed of the possibility of brain surgery that could remove the cancer altogether. It seemed like the perfect solution, except for the price tag. There was no way the family could afford the surgery, and health insurance was nonexistent in capitalistic Midgar. Julia despaired, until Cloud became 16, and the price money for struggle competitions he competed in skyrocketed. He won a lot of money with these 'adolescent' tournaments, securing a place in the world's top ten of his age. It was still not enough, however.

Until a tournament at a place called the Golden Saucer came up. The price money for this "Struggle for Gold" was so outrageous that it would be enough to pay for Gaspard's surgery. It was, like all tournaments at the Golden Saucer, a 'winner takes it all' affair: there was no prize to win for second or third place.

Gaspard's condition was getting worse: he could see almost nothing with one eye and he started experiencing memory loss. Julia's whole life became fixated on that one tournament. She made sure Cloud was in top shape and training non-stop for it, going as far as putting him on a protein diet advised by his trainer. As mother and son flew towards the Golden Saucer on a sponsored flight she explained that winning this tournament would mean the end of his father's disease, and that nothing would make her happier than to see him win. Cloud frowned and nodded very solemnly, his normally playful disposition gone. He felt the pressure building up, and the splendour of the Golden Saucer struggle arena did nothing to decrease the tension. Nevertheless, he won the first rounds of the tournament easily, qualified for the finals after convincingly defeating his opponent in the semi-finals. There was one more moment for Julia to talk to Cloud before the finals.

"I know you'll do it," Julia said, with tears in her eyes, "you are my angel, my beautiful boy. You can do it. Win. Safe your father's life."

That last sentence shook Cloud to the bone, as the importance of the next match really dawned on him. If he did not win, his father would die. His father's life depended on him now, on him defeating the tall, strapping youth hopping on his place at the other end of the ring. And for the first time when it came to struggle, Cloud started to doubt himself.

Cloud found himself unable to remember that struggle match afterwards, but the Midgar Daily later described as a 'total humiliation.' The two-hour flight home were the worst hours of his life. His mother didn't say anything. She just sat there, crying, staring into nothingness. Cloud wanted to scream 'I'm sorry', but he was unable to, he was too ashamed, too empty on the inside. Only when they reached the door of their apartment did he turn to her and said, tears in his eyes, "Mom, I'm sorry." His mother looked at him with a sadness and a disappointment he had never seen before and would never forget. "Me too."

Cloud fled to his room where he buried his face into his pillow, and barely heard his mother shouting with a horrible, hollow voice, "I'm taking your father for a drive!".

It was the last time he and his brother ever saw their parents. At 1:00 am they the doorbell rang, and two policemen informed them that their parents had died in a tragic car accident. Apparently their mother had lost control over the car in a sharp corner and had crashed into a small river. They died instantly. Cloud could not believe it. His mouth was open, but no words were coming out. All he could think of was his mother's face after he had lost, and that this was his fault. He had killed his parents by not winning that struggle match. His mother had always been emotional and impulsive, and must have decided she and her husband should die together, instead of a horrific disease slowly reducing Gaspard to nothing.

Roxas did not say anything either, but simply embraced his brother for what might have been hours.

Cloud never lost another struggle match after that.


	14. Chapter 13

Merry Christmas dear readers! My present to you is this brand new chapter! Your present to me could be a review...

Enjoy ;)

Chapter 13 – Heat

_Roxas_

Roxas could hardly understand what Cloud saw in Sora's oh-so-serious older brother. Sure, he was very handsome; as tall as Zack was, with long chocolate colored hair and stormy grey eyes that were very different from Sora's baby blue ones but no less attractive. . But he was just so… grim. Overly so, Roxas thought. A world of difference between him and Sora. Sora… he was always cheerful, always happy, always smiling. When Sora laughed, Roxas laughed with him; he couldn't help it. But he was clueless as to how to let his friend know of his feelings.

There had been so many times when the words were on the tip of his tongue… Or when it seemed so easy to just lean in and kiss him… But he lacked the courage. If Sora didn't return his feelings, it would be the end of their friendship as it was now, and it was nothing less than great. Sora was without a doubt the best thing about Twilight Town, and he wasn't about to lose him. It was getting harder to resist though…

He sighed. They were walking through the Twilight Airport Sora, him and their older brothers. It was an enormous, busy place. Sora would be chatting away, without a doubt, if he had not been looking around him in delight, taking in every crowded bit of the enormous airport. That was another thing he loved about Sora: how easily impressed he was. Very few things could impress Roxas, who was used to living the life of the fabulously rich. Sora was a very different story. He had clearly never been to any airport in his life: he must have come from the Destiny Islands by boat.

"Wow… It's… It's so big!"

"This is nothing," Roxas said, bemused, "You should see the Midgar airport. Or the one at Junon. Now those are big. They're like small cities."

Sora's eyes widened, "I'd love to see that! I can't imagine what they're like."

"One day I'll take you there." Roxas promised him.

Their brothers were walking in front of them, Leon carrying a small backpack and Cloud carrying nothing but his cell phone, which was constantly beeping. As always he acted as if he was annoyed by it, but Roxas knew he loved the attention. Mostly there were just text messages, but sometimes his brother would get a call, and he would check who it was and either click it away to voice mail or answer it in his annoyingly chipper voice. Roxas noticed the irritated look on Leon's face every time Cloud got a call. _You're not going to win him like this, big brother._

"Where are we GOING?" Leon asked, clearly frustrated, after Cloud finally hung up on Aerith, his 'number one girl'.

Cloud looked up, startled. "Uhm… waddaya mean?"

"I mean, what's the gate? Because there are no gates this way."

"Oh we are not leaving from a gate."

"Then how are we leaving? Where are we going?"

"To the private dock!"

That shut Leon up.

"You have a private jet?!" Sora asked, clearly in awe.

"Sure do!" Cloud said with a toothy grin.

That annoyed Roxas.

"It was a gift from his wealthy ex-boyfriend."

Cloud gave Roxas a hateful look for making his jet seem less impressive.

"Yep, it was for our one week anniversary."

"Your one week anniversary..? Who was this guy?" Leon asked, astounded.

"Well I taught him how to actually LIVE! That's worth something. Rufus Shinra's his name, by the way."

Leon seemed pretty impressed by that. "You… you had a… a thing with Rufus Shinra? The wealthiest man alive?"

Cloud rolled his eyes. "Wealthiest and most boring man alive. Well at least we'll be able to enjoy a little piece of his far too enormous wealth shortly…."

That's when Roxas noticed they were there. The private dock was actually a multitude of docks, where every private plane had a personal boarding area. Roxas loved the variety of the planes that were docked there: some had idiotic designs while others looked just amazing. He loved a military styled black one called the _Blackbird_ that was designed to look very sleek and triangular, but despised the one that was next to their own jet; an enormous, rose pink horror called the _Cotton Candy_. He had always wondered to whom that one belonged.

When their airplane came into sight, Cloud lovingly announced: "And there's my baby! The _Dreamcloud_, and no Cloud was ever dreamier!"

Roxas had to admit that the jet was pretty dreamy. It was small and white, with a pointed nose and long, sharply angled wings. The tail stood up and was designed extremely thin without looking frail. Next to the tail were the two jet boosters, and their perfectly smooth and curvy design clashed smartly with the sharp angles that defined the rest of the jet.

Roxas looked at his friend's face and smiled at the speechless look on Sora's face. "That's yours? That's just… that's…"

"Pretty damn nice?" Roxas suggested, grinning.

"Yes!" Sora exclaimed, still looking at the _Dreamcloud_ in awe.

His brother was just as impressed, though he was a lot more subtle in showing it.

"That's… a beautiful plane." He said quietly.

"It is rather nice, isn't it?" Cloud, said, beaming. "Well, if the two of you are done staring, let's hop in!"

They walked towards the stairs, and waiting next to them was someone Sora clearly hadn't been expecting.

"Coach Cid! What… ehm… what are you doing here?"

The old pilot smiled. "You didn't think all I did was coach blitzball, did you? I'd go crazy! Coaching is more like a hobby to me. This is my real job." His eyes twinkled. "taking, spoiled, rich bastards like Cloud here all across the globe."  
>"Don't act like you don't love it." Roxas' brother replied teasingly.<p>

"Hmm I guess I sort of do, why would I put up with the likes of you otherwise? Well, are you just going to stand there and see me and Shera off to Costa Del Sol or are you actually going to hop in?"

"Getting in seems a more appealing option than standing here to chat with you. Don't you have a flight to prepare, captain Cid?"

"Think I might. After you, then."

And they boarded the plane, Sora gasping at the luxurious interior. While the plain was minimalistic on the outside, the inside was the complete opposite: comfortable couches, massage chairs, an enormous plasma television with video game consoles. The small space had been utilised to the fullest, but didn't look overly stuffed. It was impossible not to love it.

Also impossible to love was Shera, the flirty flight attendant who had been working with Cid for years. She was somewhere in her mid-thirties, with a broad, bleached smile, curly auburn hair and weight that bounced from light to heavy like a yoyo. It seemed she had recently done another cleanse because she was at one of her better weights.

Shera let them in; Sora gasped as she showed him the plane, delighting in his obvious amazement. Leon was of course reserved, looking around in a way that could almost be described as wary. All of Cloud's attention was on him, his brother's face was like a child's.

"Oh man, you have a _Jacuzzi?!" _Sora exclaimed from the bathroom.

"I call that!" Cloud called after him, "You can go after."

Roxas knew that he would have added some perverse remark to that, perhaps "use my water if you want," if Leon had not been there.

As the plane took off and started climbing the sky Roxas considered his travel companions and their expectations of the journey. First, there was himself of course. He wanted one thing only on this trip: to make Sora fall in love with him. He had confidence in his rate of success: the glamour and the magic of the exotic town of Costa del Sol had made many people fall in love before.

Then he considered his brother, who was reading a trashy magazine right now, anxious to turn on his beloved Jacuzzi. He wanted someone to fall in love as well, but that in itself was not surprising: Cloud wanted everyone to fall in love with him, and worse still, he expected everyone to fall in love with him, and worst of all: he usually got everyone to fall in love with him. The main reason the Leonhart brothers were here was because Cloud could not accept Leon not wanting him. Which brought Roxas to the next person to consider: Sora's sullen other brother. He was most likely here because his brother forced him to be; but at least some part of him must have looked forward to a trip to one of the best vacation areas in the world. And then there was probably some other part of him that felt attracted to Cloud, although this attraction might be restricted to a physical level. And finally, there was Sora, who probably just wanted to make the most out of the first vacation he ever had.

* * *

><p><em>Cloud<em>

Cloud was always very careful not to take himself too seriously, which was no easy task considering the reverence the world seemed to treat him with. His brother helped him with this: constantly, perpetually reminding him of his own shortcomings. As he enjoyed the sensation of the hot water surrounding his body, the heat actually entering his body, warming him on the inside, he thought back at the diner they had shared yesterday night, the first diner they had in ages where it had been just the two of them. Usually it was either Sora there, a friend of Cloud's, or some girl who would spent the night laughing at everything he said. But not yesterday night. Yesterday night it had been just the two Strife brothers, with Larxene bringing in the various dishes and drinks. The diner was marked by long silences that were, altogether, not that uncomfortable.

At one point, though, Roxas spoke up, "Cloud?"

"Hmm?"

"You need to consider the possibility of things not always being about you."

"Roxas?"

"What?"

"You need to consider the possibility of losing your virginity before you are thirty years old."

"You need to consider the possibility of others not being tormented by your obsession with sex."

"And you need to consider the possibility of me dragging you outside and throwing you out on the street right now, just to see where that attitude of yours will get you in the real world."

The way he said that was a little too loaded, a little too vicious and they both knew it. No more possibilities were considered, though at one point Cloud declared: "I think I'm in love." And Roxas laughed at him and left the table.

* * *

><p><em>Sora<em>

The heat was the first thing to hit Sora as the group of four exited the plane at the small Costa del Sol airport. It was not just that it was hot, the humidity of the air made it even more… there. It was a nice switch from the winter in Twilight Town, though. He was quite sure he had never been this happy since he had left Destiny's Islands. He was with the two people he cared for the most, and with the sexiest man alive to top it of.

They were at the hotel soon afterwards to drop off the luggage. Their rooms were dreamy, two huge suites with two queen-sized bedrooms each.

"So… how should we do this? Let the boys have their own room?" Cloud asked his brother in a weird voice.

"I'd prefer sharing a room with Sora." Leon said bluntly.

"Aww come on Leon! I won't be able to have any sort of holiday with you constantly checking up on me! I want to room with Roxas!"

"Alright that's settled then!" Cloud said, just with a little too much enthusiasm. "Leon, this way please. We're taking the biggest room, obviously."

"Obviously." Roxas muttered darkly as they entered their room, which was still enormous.

"Isn't this great Rox! It will be like a week-long sleepover, but in Costa del Sol!"

Roxas smiled, "It is great, Sora."

They had arrived late afternoon, and had diner in the hotel's restaurant. There was a new movie out called "Exile of Agrabah" that Roxas wanted to see. "I heard it was the best action movie out right now, and apparently it is nominated for –"

"Nah, Victor Ward's playing the lead, and he's a total jerk. I am not going to that." Cloud yawned lazily.

"Actually I wanted to see that. I _like _Victor Ward. I'll take you there, Roxas." Leon said. Cloud's relaxed look soured immediately, but Roxas was smiling. "How about you, Sora? You in?"

"I'm a little tired, not feeling up to going to the movies tonight."

"Well this is nice huh? Now the two of you can get to know each other," Cloud said, clearly annoyed, "anyway, let's talk about tomorrow. So obviously, you simply can't have been in Costa del Sol without having surfed. So Sora, I've booked a private instructor for you who will be teaching you all about it. And Leon, I thought I could personally teach you how to water ski. What do you guys things of that?"

"I'd love to learn how to surf!" Sora exclaimed. "Thanks Cloud, it is so awesome how you arranged this whole trip."

Cloud smiled his devilish smile. "Happy to hear it."

* * *

><p>Roxas and Leon had gone out together to see the movie, and Sora was looking up some tips on how to surf online on Roxas' laptop. Cloud had friends over in his room, and had asked Sora not to disturb them.<p>

He was just getting ready to get to bed when Cloud entered the room.

"Hey Sora. How's it hanging?"

"Hi Cloud. Err… Fine I guess. Shouldn't you be with your friends?"

"They left. That's how my friends are. They just leave me at some point, and then I'm lonely."

He sniffs. There is something weird about him, and it makes Sora feel uneasy.

"I'm so lonely, Sora. I could really use some company right now."

"Are you drunk, Cloud?"

"Not really. I'm high as fuck though, but it doesn't matter."

He sits down next to Sora, on the couch. Tentatively, Sora puts away the laptop.

Casually, Cloud puts his arm behind Sora's back, which causes Sora to tense up.

"You find me very attractive, don't you?"

_Why is he doing this to me again?_

"It's alright, you can speak up about it. I find it very cute, you know. So Sora… You look all innocent and stuff…. But there must be something more behind those baby blue eyes. You know, I have been wondering about some things ever since you came in your pants at my party. Do you jerk off from time to time? You do right? All teenagers do."

"I… why are you… I really don't feel comfortable talking about that…" Sora stammered, wondering how someone could even ask about those things.

"Do you think of me when you do it?" Cloud asks, looking at Sora with a strange and disturbing intensity, his eyes far too piercing to Sora's taste.

Sora was getting turned on now by Cloud's mere presence, by the feeling of his hot breath and the arm he had around his back.

"Cloud…"

"It's alright Sora, be honest with me."

"Sometimes…"

"There's a good boy. I knew you did. I knew."

Then there's a silence with Cloud looking very pleased and Sora feeling awkward and embarrassed.

"You know… It's a lot better with someone else doing it. And since I'm here, you don't even have to fantasise about anything…"

And before Sora knows what is happening Cloud is clawing at his belt, undoing his zipper, pulling down his pants.

"Cloud, what are you – stop!"

"It's alright Sora, I'll make you blow me later to make up for it."

"What the?!"

Suddenly Cloud gets mad: "Shut up! You should be thanking some god that this is happening to you. You have to realize that I am not a nice person. Everything I do has a selfish reason. I am feeling sinful right now, and this is going to be my good deed for the day. Should I pull off my shirt? That's probably how you picture me, right?"

And before Sora knows what's happening, Cloud has pulled off his shirt, and is removing Sora's underpants, ignoring the boy's half-hearted protests.

"This will make your trip here all the more memorable…"

* * *

><p>Sora was still trying to make sense of last night's events. Cloud had clearly been high on drugs he had used with his friends, but was that really enough to explain his behaviour? Did he even realize how he was confusing Sora? Probably not. He probably didn't even care about Sora's feelings at all. He sighed.<p>

He was at the beach with a newly hired surf board, making his way over to the _Total Ohana _surfing school, where he was supposed to register and meet up with his instructor.

At the register was a typical surfer, with long blond hair and a very deep tan.

"Yeah, all taken care of. Your instructor should be here soon. Ah there he is."

Excited, Sora looked behind him. And then his jaw dropped.

Standing there behind him, wearing a deep blue surfing shirt and surf shorts with a flower pattern, looking just as surprised as Sora was, was Riku.


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14 – Fever

**Larxene**

Back in Twilight Town, Larxene was enjoying her vacation, lying spread-eagled on the enormous couch that dominated the Strife living room and ordering high quality sushi every night. Cloud had made a mistake telling her all expenses would be covered. At the moment she was on the phone, and in one of her _shockingly_ bad moods.

"I'm living in the fucking _Sandlot _dad! That is _not _the nicer part of Twilight Town for your information. Rooming with a drug addict! Yes, she just lies in her room, constantly high on pot or crack or god knows what, only going out to forage for food occasionally. At first she actually expected me to do groceries for the both of us! Of course she can forget about that… But I'm getting off-topic. Is this how you want your daughter to live? All I'm asking you for is 15000 gil!"

"Larxene, please do not talk to me like that… If you would have just listened to me and your mother and gone to College in Radiant Garden you could have gotten yourself a real job… I never imagined my daughters living like this: one working in a clothes store and the other as a servant! A servant!"

"I am _not_ working as a servant! I am a housekeeper, in one of the wealthiest homes in Twilight Town thank you very much!"

"Oh how ambitious you are. The very elite of the housekeeper class. What does your employer do again? A… model? How prestigious."

"As I have already told you numerous times, he is world struggle champion, one of the greatest sportsmen of our time. But there is really no need for you to criticize my career choices. Arlene and I both know what disappointments we are to you."

"No need to go down this road again. Why not stop this complaining and begging and go to college? Then you can have a real career. We would be happy to pay for it, you know we would. What do you need 15.000 gil for anyway? If you insist on only contacting your parents to ask for money then there is really nothing more to talk about."

"Daddy, look I don't want to fight. It's only 15.000 gil and it would mean the world to me. Daddy..? ARE YOU THERE?"

"Larxene, if this is the way you want it, then –"

Rage took over: she brought the horn to her mouth and screamed:

"FUCKING TROLL!"

She hung up and threw the phone in the general direction of the trashcan.

"Did you call my name?" The strapping high school boy she had met at the 7th Heaven last night walked into the room, scratching at his crotch with a sleepy expression on his face.

"No, I said fucking troll."

"Oh, I thought you said Seifer."

They shared awkward eye contact. Larxene was unable to remember much of the previous night, only that she had slapped the boy after he had come up to her and said something like "I totally go for older chicks". The next thing she remembered was the same exact boy hammering her into Cloud Strife's bed with an almost frighteningly aggressive energy. She must have been more drunk that she thought.

Although, now that she had a good look at the boy, she could see his appeal. He looked gorgeous in his boxers. He couldn't be that much younger than she was: he was quite tall and his muscles were well-developed.

"So…" Seifer said, looking around him, clearly looking for a topic for conversation, "nice place you've got here. You err… Are you rich or something?"

How very eloquent. She was about to tell him to dream on, but then she thought better of it. Why should she tell this gorgeous dimwit the truth? Why not have him believe that he had landed himself some wealthy cougar. Kind of ironic really, because the whole reason she had been at that bar was that she was looking for a wealthy potential husband herself.

"You could say that."

"Okay, this is really embarrassing…" He looked almost cute searching for words, although what she could remember about last night definitely did not involve him showing any cuteness,

"Would you mind if I stayed here for a while? Like a week? I had a fight with my dad and… He sort of threw me out…"

"First of all: ew. We were together for one drunk night and now you are asking to move in with me?"

His jaw tightened and his eyes flashed dangerously. He truly was a handsome boy…

"I could make it worth your while… You did tell me I was the best you ever had, after all. I thought you might be up for… more."

He said it with convincing self-confidence, and Larxene found herself feeling slightly aroused.

"One week. And you better make it good."

**Cloud**

Cloud always found it ridiculous that some people seemed to associate having cold showers with a boring, sexless and generally _cold_ lifestyle. He was sure those who held such opinions led that kind of their life themselves and were just trying to feel better about themselves. In fact, it made way more sense to take cold showers for people who needed to be cooled down from time to time because their lives were that hot and exciting. Personally, he enjoyed cold showers. He especially enjoyed them after sex, but waterskiing with Leon had been almost as exciting as sex.

Mister don't-call-me-Squall-my-name-is-Leon was doing an increasingly poor job at pretending to have a bad time. He was clearly a sports lover, and Cloud had never known of a sports lover being able to look his kind of grim while water skiing. He had known it was a sure way to break the icy wall that existed between the two of them…

As the water hit his skin he revelled in the sensation of his breathing quickening and his muscles clenching. The sense of losing control always managed to lift his spirits, and sometimes it even helped to calm his manly urges for just a little while.

Vague memories came back to him from the night before. Getting stoned with some female _Yevon_ models, gorgeous girls with empty heads who always seemed to have drugs with them. It hadn't been a nice kind of stoned, and he had just sent them away in the end, feeling the familiar urge but not feeling like doing it with a girl who had 10.000 copies walking around the world who were the exact same kind of pretty… And then…

He remembered going into Sora's room, trying to see Leon in the twitching little mess that was his brother's best friend… Failing to do so, getting angry… Wanting to hit him but settling for messing him up some more… Doing so by… by… giving him a hand job? Yes, he was sure that was all that he had done. He had removed his shirt and jerked the kid of, nothing more. Cloud clearly remembered the widening of Sora's eyes as the kid ogled every inch of his body. The combination of pure disbelief and guilty innocence was very appetizing, and Cloud swiftly got two work, watching the boy the entire time.

The squirt was protesting for about 3 seconds and was then just squealing, gasping and moaning in a way that felt weirdly satisfying to Cloud. He came far too quickly with a nice "Urrrrrr… Oh no…. " and Cloud had just gone on until he came again, this time throwing his head back and producing a very unique sound that reminded Cloud of some small animal he had trouble naming. He himself had just been enjoying how completely _subordinate _this boy was to him. How he could be sucking on the boy's damn toes and still make him reach his climax within a minute or two. Then, after the little guy was finished, he tried to cuddle up to Cloud…

And asked him about the reason he and Zack had broken up. Which had soured Cloud's mood even further. He had actually told Sora about it, starting to feel aggressive even at the mere memory of it.

They had been fooling around in the middle of the party, removing each other's shirts in Cloud's bedroom… And then Zack had moaned, evidently not thinking very clearly, "Aww Cloud… You're just so damn _easy_."

That, combined with his feelings for Sora's older brother and the fact that Zack had dared pinch his behind in the middle of the party had been enough for Cloud to practically kick Zack out of his house. He remembered feeling sorry the day afterwards, thinking about how he would miss Zack's almost bestial enthusiasm in the bedroom.

But Zack was in the past now. The present was Leon, and more specifically, how to charm his way into the sullen security guard's heart. He thought about it as he dressed. All four of them were having diner soon, and after that they were all going out to _Oblivion, _the number one club in Costa del Sol. It was as exclusive as it was expensive, and he would never have taken Roxas and Sora along to it if his little brother hadn't insistent on it, with that ever-annoying stubbornness of his.

Once there, it was only a matter of getting Leon a little drunk and making him realize how _wanted _Cloud was by turning down absolutely everyone who came up to him to ask him to dance. He could already see it in his head: some pathetic small-time actress coming up to him, looking at Leon as if embarrassed and asking the girl whether she could not see that he was with someone. Yes, that would do it. He could flirt with some of the more desirable floozies so he could see whether Leon was getting jealous: a sure sign of a winning strategy.

Before putting on his shirt he checked himself out in the huge mirror that hung in the bathroom. Yup, still got it, he thought. He was in great shape, not in struggle shape but modelling shape, which was much easier to maintain since it was only about looking good and not about being as strong and fast he could be. Thinking of modelling reminded him of the Yevon photo shoot he had to do tomorrow. Well, at least Baralai had invited him to diner and drinks afterwards… An invitation that had sounded vaguely sexual, so he might actually go for it. That is, if he wasn't having diner with Leon instead. Which he would be, if tonight went well.

**Roxas**

Even Roxas felt impressed as the four of them entered _Oblivion_. It had a weird, slightly dark class to it, like an expensive club in a crime movie. One of the main aspects that impressed Roxas was the sheer size of the club.

It was a huge, rectangular space. A set of winding stairs let to a second floor, where tall girls and taller men looked down upon the partying crowd from a massive balcony. From the roof of the club hung black chandeliers and cages, in which bone thin, scarcely dressed female dancers moved as if possessed by the music. The cages were suspended above the throng of dancers at different heights, and some seemed to almost touch the heads of the people dancing under them.

In the left wall two big fountains were built, and from them streamed deep blue water that seemed to strangely glow in the dark. On a stage at the right side of the club stood a single songstress, adding haunting vocals to the loud, trance inducing music. The overall effect was rather dramatic and almost frightening.

The giant bouncers guarding the entrance added to this impression, looming over everyone who entered the club. He did not want to know how much Cloud paid for the four of them to get in, and when the ticket manager pointed at Sora and himself, probably asking for identification, he whispered something in his ear and handed over some more gil. Once inside, Cloud bought a bag of gems you could buy drinks with, handed some over to him and Sora and swiftly dragged Leon off into the crowd of people dancing, leaving him and Sora to take it all in.

"Let's have ourselves some drinks!" he said, secretly glad to be finally left alone with his cheerful friend.

"Sure!" Sora said, clearly just as impressed as Roxas was.

They went to the bar which was at the back of the enormous club, raised on a platform which made it seem almost like an island in the sea of partygoers. A full dozen of bartenders worked there, mixing cocktails, opening bottles of wine and champagne and tapping beer. All of them were dressed in black. After a short wait one of them came to them, a man with icy blue eyes and black curls. "What would you like?" He made no mention of their obvious youth, but Roxas saw the slight curiosity in his eyes.

"A Rum Royale for me please. What do you want, Sora?"

"Uhm, an… Atlantican? Maybe?"

"An Atlantican for my friend."

The drinks arrived swiftly, and after handing over the two deep blue gems to the bartender Roxas and Sora looked over the dancing mass together.

"How do you like it here?" Roxas asked Sora.

"It's very… cool. And impressive. Kind of overwhelming, really, but very cool! And the music is… really something. Otherworldly, that's kind of how this place seems to me."

"I get what you mean. Hey Sora, I meant to ask… When you came back from your surfing, you seemed a little out of it. Did something happen during your lesson?"

_Nothing happened, and that's just it._ That's what Sora thought, but he said, "Uhm… Well you see, it was sort of awkward because… Riku was my surfing instructor."

Roxas clenched his fists at the mention of Riku's name. Ever since Sora had told him what had happened between the two of them he had wanted to punch the silver-haired jock in the face.

"Did you guys… have a fight?"

"No, we sort of acted as if we hardly knew each other, which is sort of true nowadays I guess… He only talked about surfing and he seemed so… closed. I really enjoyed surfing so that sort of got rid of the awkwardness, but it still felt really strange. I just don't know how the rest of the week is going to work out. "

"You know Sora…. You should really tell him how you feel tomorrow. Just get it out of your system: ask him why he did what he did. Or else he's just going to be a coward about it and continue to ignore the issue."

"Yeah, I guess you're right…" A silence ensued, but it was a good silence, with Roxas' thoughts drifting off as he ogled the stylish venue, looking at the caged dancers who seemed to be experiencing seizures but somehow made it look good, and the sight of the couples passionately making out on the edge of the fountains reminded him of his own intentions for the night.

"Sora," he said confidently, "let's dance."

And dance they did. They joined the crowd and all they could really think about was how good the music sounded and how good all the people around them looked as they danced, seeming almost hypnotized. They went back to the bar from time to time, spending Roxas' remaining gems, challenging each other to finish their cocktails faster.

The further the night processed, the less daunting the prospect of opening up to Sora seemed to Roxas. They danced closer to each other, Sora blushing at the intense look in his friend's eyes. At some point they were grinding, moving almost as if they were one. Then they turned to each other, and Roxas was about to speak up when Sora leaned close to him and almost shouted in his ear:

"I'm really happy we are friends."

Roxas felt a warmth spreading inside him, knowing that the words were completely honest and not just the result of a drunk stupor.

"You know Roxas… The day you came to Twilight Town was one of the best days of my life. I mean that, really. Before you came, I really did not have many friends. Or any, actually. I guess what I am trying to say is –"

He did not finish his sentence because suddenly Roxas was there, pressing his lips against him. The kiss was short but sweet.

"There's no need to say it," Roxas said. "I feel the same way."

**Leon**

All four of them experienced oblivion that night, and the next day memories of the previous night were fragmented and vague. _Where am I?_ Leon thought as he woke up, immediately becoming aware of his massive headache. _What happened…. Last night…?_

He was in a bed, in a hotel room. Various realizations hit him all at once.

_Costa del Sol… Expensive Hotel… Cloud Strife… O-oblivion?_

He slowly turned his head to the person lying next to him. He hadn't spent the night alone.


End file.
